Rome, 26 December 2023 (dpa/MIA) - The total number of asylum applications recorded in the European Union this year will reach "well over one million," the head of the EU asylum agency, Nina Gregori, said on Tuesday.

With around 123,000 applications, the highest monthly figure in seven years was registered in October. The 27 member states of the European Union currently have a total population of almost 450 million.

Gregori of the Malta-based agency does not expect the number of asylum seekers to fall significantly over the next few years.

"The world around us is becoming increasingly unstable," she told the newspapers of Germany's Funke media group. The need for people to seek protection will therefore not decrease in 2024 and beyond, she added.

According to the authority, 937,000 applications were registered in the EU by the end of October, an increase of 22% compared to the same period last year. The final figure for 2023 will not be available until next year.

According to the German Office for Migration and Refugees, almost 326,000 asylum applications were submitted in Germany by the end of November, which is an increase of 52% compared to the first 11 months of the previous year.

According to the EU asylum agency, Germany remains the most important destination country for asylum seekers in the EU, followed by France and Italy.

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