The European Migration Network has just published its Annual Report on Migration and Asylum. This report provides statistical data and an overview of the most significant legal and policy developments in the European Union Member States and EMN Observer Countries in 2023.
Key Findings
The report presents a number of key findings such as the political agreement reached in December by the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which was thereafter adopted in 2024. Other findings were a growth in labour shortages across the EU, despite an increase in the share of non-EU nationals residing in Member States. Therefore, the attraction of highly skilled foreign talent remains a priority for many EMN and Observer states. Many governments introduced policies to simplify admission procedures for various workers, particularly those highly skilled or in shortage occupations. In Ireland, the government has expanded the Critical Skills Occupation List and made 32 other occupations eligible for general employment permits to try and combat labour shortages. At EU-level, the EU Talent Pool was presented as an initiative to match employers in the EU with jobseekers from non-EU countries, simplify qualifications recognition procedures, and promote both student and labour market mobility.
The Temporary Protection Directive was extended for one year in 2023 and was further extended in 2024 to 2026. This means that EU Member States continued to provide supports for beneficiaries of temporary protection and allow access to essential services such as welfare, housing and education. In some EMN countries such as Ireland, there were many developments in terms of the provision of supports for beneficiaries of temporary protection (read more in EMN Ireland’s report about the Application of the Temporary Protection Directive).
First-time applications for asylum increased overall across the EU in 2023, exceeding one million applications. However, the total number of applications (1,049,020) was less than levels seen in 2015 (1,322,850 applications in 2015). Ireland had 13,220 asylum applicants in 2023, 1.3% of the total EU asylum applications.
EMN Member Countries responded by adopting measures to increase efficiency of asylum procedures and alleviate pressure on reception capacities. Additionally, EMN and Observer Countries reported increasing stress on their International Protection systems due to a growing number of applications. The digitalisation of migration management was another trend where many EMN and Observer Countries began to implement digitalised methods for application and visa submissions, international protection procedures, the renewal of residence permits and citizenship acquisitional procedures. Other findings included new action plans to combat trafficking in human beings and efforts to support vulnerable groups.
Later this year, EMN Ireland will publish with an online launch event the Annual Report on Migration and Asylum 2023: Ireland which provides an overview of statistics, policy developments, caselaw and research on migration and asylum in Ireland in 2023.
See more:
- Annual Report on Migration and Asylum 2023
- Statistical Annex
- Inform
- Flash
