EU asylum requests jump 28 per cent in first half of 2023

The number of migrants lodging asylum applications in the EU jumped 28 per cent in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2022, official figures released Tuesday showed.

Between January and the end of June, 519,000 requests were made in the 27-nation bloc and associated countries Switzerland and Norway, the European Union Agency for Asylum said.

That puts the EU on track to receive more than one million asylum seekers this year – the biggest number since 2015 and 2016 when it saw a huge influx, mainly Syrians fleeing the war in their country.

In 2015, the bloc received 1.35 million asylum requests, followed by 1.25 million applications in 2016.

Numbers dropped in 2017, after the EU did a deal with Turkey to have it clamp down on migrant border crossings, and during the height of the Covid pandemic in 2020 and 2021 when travel restrictions were in place.

Numbers have since rebounded, with 2022 seeing a 53 per cent rise in applications, putting many EU countries “under pressure”, the EUAA said.

Figures in the first half of 2023 remain slightly lower than in the first half of 2016, when they reached 633,184.

Accommodation and support are stretched thin in many cases as several EU countries are hosting four million Ukrainian refugees. They benefit from a protection status separate from asylum because of Russia's war on their country.

Syrians continued this year to lodge the most applications for asylum in the EU, with 67,000 applications – a number up by nearly 50 per cent compared to the same period in 2022.

The next main nationalities seeking asylum in Europe are people from Afghanistan, Venezuela, Turkey, Colombia, Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Germany, which took in most of the Syrian refugees in 2015-2016, continues to be the top EU destination for asylum seekers, principally those from Syria and Afghanistan.

Germany received 62 per cent of all asylum applications by Syrians in the EU in the first half of 2023.

Syrians also continue to be granted international protection at a rate of around 95 per cent and Afghans at around 58 per cent.

Syrians and Afghans account for nearly a quarter of asylum applications received so far this year.

Spain was the main destination for Venezuelan asylum seekers, who tended to be granted humanitarian visas rather than asylum status where their cases warranted protection.

Overall, 41 per cent of applicants received either refugee status or another form of protection allowing them to stay, but there were very different outcomes associated with different nationalities.

Turkish applicants were among those who were the least likely to receive international protection, down to 28 per cent in the first half of 2023 from 54 per cent in 2019.

The EUAA said the numbers of Russians and Iranians being granted protection in Europe has increased compared to recent previous years.

It added that the first half of 2023 also saw a notable uptake in asylum applications from Ivorian and Guinea nationals in the EU. Taken together, they still only accounted for 3.5 per cent of the overall figure.

The recent increase has taken place in Italy, and not in France, as was the case in the past.

Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

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The British in India: Three Centuries of Ambition and Experience

by David Gilmour

Allen Lane

Company Profile

Name: JustClean

Based: Kuwait with offices in other GCC countries

Launch year: 2016

Number of employees: 130

Sector: online laundry service

Funding: $12.9m from Kuwait-based Faith Capital Holding

How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries

• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.

• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.

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• For more information visit the library network's website.