In 2013, almost 1,500 asylum applicants were registered in Romania, according to a report published by Eurostat.

Out of these, over 1,000 (68 percent) came from Syria, 45 were submitted by citizens of Iraq, while 40 were made by Pakistanis. Romania approved 920 of these applications, and rejected 515.

In the EU28, there were 435,000 asylum applicants, with 100,000 more than in the previous year. It is estimated that around 90 percent of these were new applicants and around 10 percent were repeat applicants, according to Eurostat.

Last year, the highest number of applicants was registered in Germany - 127,000 applicants, followed by France - 65,000 and Sweden - 45,000.

Syria became in 2013 the first main country of citizenship of these applicants, ahead of Russia, Afghanistan, Serbia, Pakistan and Kosovo.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com