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A report released on 26 March by UNHCR says that the number of refugees seeking asylum in the EU and in other Western countries has risen by 46 per cent in 2014 compared to the year before, bringing it to the highest level since 1993 and the war in Bosnia, with an estimated 866,000 asylum seekers who lodged claims. The increase was driven by the ongoing conflicts in Syria and Iraq.
Germany alone received 173,000 claims – 30 per cent of EU total –, followed by the US, Turkey, Sweden and Italy. The five of them count for 60 per cent of all asylum bids. UNHCR asked European countries to "open their doors" to refugees, reports BBC. In 2013, 24,615 asylum status were granted by EU countries over 134,965 lodged.
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