In the first nine months of the year, the number of applications for protection fell by almost a quarter in the EU, Norway and Switzerland.
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Unpublished EUAA data for the first nine months of the year shows declining asylum numbers.
Significantly fewer asylum applications were registered in Europe in the first nine months. According to previously unpublished data from the European Union Asylum Agency (EUAA), which is available to Welt am Sonntag, the European Union as well as Norway and Switzerland registered a total of 452,969 applications for protection from January to the end of September. That is 24.3 percent less than in the same period last year, in which 598,575 applications were received.
Germany is therefore only in third place in the EU comparison in terms of the number of asylum applications this year. According to the EU report, 70,257 applications for protection were submitted in this country. Since January, 98,822 asylum applications have been submitted in France and 78,496 applications in Italy. The fewest applications were recorded in Malta with 294, Slovakia with 131, and Hungary with 83 applications.
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During Chancellor Friedrich Merz's visit to Kiev, Russian drones hit Kiev bridges. At the same time, Moldova reports drone strikes, Latvia's ruling party wins elections, and Putin admits GDP losses.

Air raids occur during Friedrich Merz's visit to Kyiv. According to Ukrainian sources, Russia is building ballistic missiles, while Zelensky is talking about tougher reactions and partial ceasefires.
Russian drones have again attacked bridges and infrastructure in Kyiv, while Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrived in the Ukrainian capital on a solidarity visit. Meanwhile, President Zelensky announced increased counterattacks on Russian oil refineries.