Athens: EU asylum applications fell sharply in June 2026, when Eurostat counted 37,075 first-time applicants for international protection, down 29 percent from 52,535 in June 2025 and down 13 percent from 42,525 in May. The figures, published on 16 September 2026 and reported by Eunews, give governments a fresh test case as the EU moves to apply its migration pact.

Subsequent applications from people who had already applied also dropped. Eurostat recorded 5,900 of them in June, 32 percent fewer than a year earlier and 27 percent fewer than in May. Across the bloc, EU asylum applications equalled 8.2 first-time applicants for every 100,000 inhabitants.

Greece recorded the highest national rate, at 38.2 per 100,000 inhabitants, ahead of Ireland at 19.3 and Latvia at 19.0. In absolute numbers, Italy received 9,660 first-time applications and France 9,165, while Germany counted 4,265 and Greece 3,955. Those four countries together took 73 percent of all EU asylum applications in the month.

Bangladeshi nationals lodged the most first-time claims, with 3,495, followed by Afghans with 2,990, Sudanese with 2,345 and Venezuelans with 1,790. Unaccompanied minors made 1,105 first-time applications, mainly from Somalia, Egypt, Afghanistan, Sudan and Eritrea. Greece, Germany, the Netherlands and France received the most of these children.

Decisions tell a second story. National authorities issued 181,060 first-instance decisions in the second quarter of 2026, down 7 percent from a year earlier and down 14 percent from the first quarter. They granted protection in 74,780 cases, or 41 percent, with 49 percent of those positive outcomes giving refugee status, 23 percent subsidiary protection and 28 percent humanitarian grounds.

Germany issued the most positive decisions, 18,655, followed by Spain with 15,815 and France with 14,135. Afghans received 16,200 positive decisions, Venezuelans 9,940 and Syrians 7,350. The pattern shows that falling EU asylum applications do not mean falling workloads, because decision-makers still process large backlogs.

The data arrive while member states put the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum into practice. Lower monthly numbers may ease pressure on reception systems, but a single month does not set a trend, and Eurostat will keep publishing updates. Governments, the Commission and the EU Agency for Asylum will read each release closely.

For now, the June release shows that EU asylum applications fell year on year in the four biggest receiving countries as a group and across the bloc. Italy, France, Germany and Greece still carry most of the load, and the next Eurostat figures will show whether the decline in EU asylum applications holds through autumn 2026.