The number of first time asylum seekers who applied for international protection in the European Union member states increased by 6% in the second quarter of this year, when compared to the previous three months, but very few of them filed their requests Romania, according to data from EU’s statistical office Eurostat.

More than 305,000 people applied for international protection in the EU, and only 215 of them targeted Romania, which is less than 0.1% of the total number.

By comparison, Germany registered the highest number of first time applicants between April and June, namely 187,000 (or 61% of the total). Italy ranked second with 27,000 applications (9% of the total), followed by France – 17,800 (6%), Hungary – 14,900 (5%), and Greece – 12,000 (4%).

Compared with the population of each member state, the highest rate of registered first time applicants during the second quarter 2016 was recorded in Germany (2,273 first time applicants per one million inhabitants), followed by Hungary (1,517), Austria (1,241), and Greece (1,113). Romania had one of the lowest rates among the EU Member States, of 11 first time applicants per one million inhabitants.

In the second quarter 2016, there were in 599 first time asylum applicants per one million inhabitants in the EU as a whole.

Syrians remained the most numerous people seeking international protection in the EU member states in the second quarter, with almost 90,500 first time applicants. Afghans ranked second – 50,300, followed by Iraqis - 34 300. These three nationalities of first time asylum applicants in the EU Member States account for almost 60% of all first time applicants.

Update – US officials: Romania has agreed to accept ten times more refugees than in 2015

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com