The European Migration Network (EMN) has released its Annual Report on Migration and Asylum for 2023, providing a comprehensive overview of significant legal and policy changes as well as statistical trends in 2023 in the 30 contributing EMN Member and Observer Countries. The report, accompanied by the Statistical Annex prepared by Eurostat, provides a data-based overview of the key developments including legislative milestones, including the Pact on Migration and Asylum, responses to the increase in irregular migration and international protection applications, measures supporting temporary protection for Ukrainian nationals, digitalisation efforts to enhance administrative efficiency, and initiatives addressing labour market needs and social integration.
At the EU level, the most notable development in 2023 was the political agreement reached between the European Parliament and the Council of the EU on the Pact on Migration and Asylum, which was formally adopted in 2024. The Pact aims among others to ensure that the EU has strong and secure external borders, that people's rights are guaranteed, and that no EU Member State is left alone under pressure.
In 2023, the EU experienced a substantial rise in first-time asylum applications, exceeding one million for the first time since 2016. To address this increase, EMN Member Countries implemented measures to enhance the efficiency of asylum procedures and manage reception capacities more effectively. Other notable developments include a rise in irregular migration with 380 000 detected illegal border crossings. This represents a 17% increase from 2022 and the highest annual figure since 2015-2016. In response, countries strengthened border management and introduced measures to combat migrant smuggling and prevent further illegal crossings.
The EU extended temporary protection for displaced Ukrainians until March 2025 (in 2024 further extended until March 2026). EMN Member Countries and Norway provided shelter to 4.3 million beneficiaries of temporary protection and focused on integration through housing, education, and labour market access.
Attracting and retaining talent remained a priority. 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.
This EMN Report was prepared on the basis of annual National Reports on Migration and Asylum from 30 EMN NCPs (AT, BE, BG, CY, CZ, DE, EE, EL, ES, FI, FR, HR, HU, IE, IT, LT, LU, LV, MT, NL, PL, PT, SE, SI, SK and NO, GE, MD, UA, RS).
The European Annual Report can be downloaded in the Publications Section. The Synthesis Report is accompanied by a shorter Inform, Flash as well as by the Statistical Annex.