Asylum applications in EU countries drop for third straight year in 2018

The number of asylum applications in EU countries continues to drop, with last year's figure falling to near pre-crisis levels.
A report by the European Asylum Support Office shows just under 635-thousand asylum applications were recorded in EU nations in 2018 - a ten percent drop from the year earlier.
It also marks the third straight year for the number to fall.
While overall applications continued to fall last year, citizens from Iran, Turkey, and several visa-liberalized countries lodged more applications than in 2017.