Statistical briefings

Statistical updates

  • The implementation of the Dublin III Regulation in 2022, November 2023: This report aims to provide an update on developments in legislation, policy and practice relating to the application of the Dublin III Regulation in 2022, which saw the highest number of Dublin transfer decisions and requests since at least 2014. The report confirms previously highlighted shortcomings in the implementation of the Dublin system. It further highlights how the Dublin Regulation remains a major source of asylum litigation in Europe, with numerous legal challenges before domestic courts, and major cases going before both European Courts.
  • The implementation of the Dublin III Regulation in 2021, September 2022: This report aims to provide an update on developments in legislation, policy and practice relating to the application of the Dublin III Regulation in 2021. Even though they did not reach pre-pandemic levels, the year was marked by an increase in the number of Dublin procedures compared to 2020. The report shows that the continuous practice of requesting transfers that cannot be completed, the disregard that most Member States have for the prioritisation of family provisions, and the numerous shortcomings in national asylum systems, call into question the operability of the current system, and that of any alternative which is not based on a deeper reform of rules on responsibility sharing among Member States.
  • The implementation of the Dublin III Regulation in 2020, September 2021: This report aims to provide an update on developments in legislation, policy and practice relating to the application of the Dublin III Regulation in 2020, which was marked by the suspension of transfers and fewer Dublin procedures as a result of COVID-19. It demonstrates that the low number of transfers, the disregard for the family provisions, and other implementation gaps documented in 2020 continue to call into question the operability of the current Dublin system – and of any new system based on the same principles.
  • The Dublin system in 2019 and during COVID-19, August 2020: This report aims to provide an update of developments in legislation, policy and practice relating to the application of the Dublin III Regulation in 2019 and the first half of 2020, when the Dublin system was further challenged following the outbreak of COVID-19.
  • The Dublin system in the first half of 2019, August 2019: This report confirms that implementation of the Dublin III Regulation in the first half of 2019 continues to be fraught by inefficiency and questionable compliance with legal standards, according to statistics and practice in 15 European countries.
  • The implementation of the Dublin III Regulation in 2018, March 2019: This report provides an overview of developments in legislation, policy and practice relating to the application of the Dublin III Regulation in 2018. It also analyses the Dublin system’s compliance with human rights and the risks of refoulement for asylum seekers transferred to countries unable to guarantee basic reception, fair refugee status determination or protection from chain refoulement.
  • The Dublin system in the first half of 2018, October 2018: The update provides statistics during the first half of 2018 on outgoing and incoming Dublin requests and transfers, including the legal provisions on which requests are based and the countries to which they are addressed. It is based on information made available by national authorities or obtained by civil society organisations in 14 European countries.
  • The Dublin system in 2017, March 2018: The 2017 Dublin Update releases figures on the implementation of the Dublin III Regulation for 18 European countries and reveals an increase in transfers in the aftermath of European Union and domestic political commitments for a stricter enforcement of the Dublin system.
  • The Dublin system in the first half of 2017, August 2017: This statistical update illustrates significant discrepancies in the use of the Dublin Regulation allocating responsibility for asylum seekers across European countries. The number of Dublin procedures initiated in the first half of 2017 vary from only 5 outgoing requests in Spain to nearly 30,000 in Germany; while there was an increase of outgoing transfers for most countries operating the Dublin Regulation.
  • The Dublin system in 2016, March 2017: This statistical update releases figures for 12 European countries from 2016 and reveals persisting fundamental dysfunctions in the Dublin system. Its inefficiency is illustrated by disproportionately low transfers compared to procedures, its inconsistency by contradictions with the EU emergency relocation scheme, and its inadequacy in safeguarding rights by Member States’ restart of transfers to Greece.

For case summaries and other legal resources, see the European Database of Asylum Law.