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38 percent asylum applications less in 2014 compared to previous years

 The number of asylum applications filed by foreign nationals is 38 percent less in 2014 compared to previous years, said the head of the General Inspectorate for Immigration, Police Chief-Quaestor Nelu Pop. 

"Currently, Romania doesn't have a problem with asylum applications. Whereas 3-4 years ago we had a quite high number of asylum applications, this is currently about 38 percent less; in 2014 we had only 1,367 requests for asylum. Romania has the shortest administrative phase of the asylum procedure in the EU, that is 30 days," Nelu Pop told the meeting of the Committee on migration, refugees and displaced persons of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) taking place on Thursday at the Palace of Parliament. 

He explained that Romania is still a transit country where immigration may be greatly influenced by global events. 

"Romania has never been an immigration target, a target country for immigrants, for illegal migration, they are headed for the West. Romania may be also favored by its geographical position - the main immigration route is Greece-Bulgaria and onwards to Italy and other countries. There wasn't a crowd flowing to Romania from Ukraine either, we only had 22 applications since the outbreak of the conflict - the distance via northern Ukraine to the West is shorter," said Pop. 

He argues that the low number of asylum applications is also due to the "high firmness shown by Romanian authorities at the border." Nelu Pop also said that there are 111,316 foreign nationals in Romania, of whom 55,600 are from third countries, while the rest are EU citizens. 

The members of the Committee on migration, refugees and displaced persons of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe are on a visit to Romania on Thursday and Friday. 

"Romania's hosting the meeting of the Committee on migration, refugees and displaced persons of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe is part of the approaches of multilateral parliamentary diplomacy aimed at promoting Romania's objectives in the areas of migration, refugees and displaced persons in the context of cooperation and intercultural dialogue at European level," says a Chamber of Deputies release.

The main themes in the attention of the PACE Committee are migration in Romania, the latest developments in migration at the borders of Romania, as well as human trafficking.

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