European Union states granted asylum to 78,820 people last year, an increase of almost 4 per cent from 2008, dpa quoted official data from the EU statistical office as showing today. Asylum seekers fleeing from war zones or persecution in their home country are entitled to protection according to international law. But their requests are sometimes met with hostility in Europe, where anti-immigration feelings are on the rise. Eurostat said the largest groups being granted protection were from Somalia and Iraq - both making up 17 per cent of the total - followed by people from Afghanistan, who amounted to 9 per cent. EU member states varied widely in their handling of asylum requests, reflecting both the differing citizenships of applicants and a lack of uniform rules across the bloc. Among the six most popular destinations for EU-bound asylum seekers, Britain accepted 26.9 per cent of requests; Germany, 36.5 per cent; France, 14.3 per cent; Sweden, 29.6 per cent; Italy, 38.4 per cent; and the Netherlands, 48.3 per cent. The discrepancies led the EU's commissioners for home affairs and humanitarian aid, Cecilia Malmstrom and Kristalina Georgieva, to call for a common European asylum system to be introduced. "It is not acceptable that in a European Union based on common values and principles, the chances of obtaining protection due to all human beings under European and international law differ radically from one country to another," they said in a joint statement. Eurostat figures were released ahead of the United Nations' World Refugee Day, due to be celebrated on Sunday.
