Eesti in brief

Asylum in Estonia
Estonia is one of the least desirable destinations in the EU for asylum seekers, according to new data released by Eurostat.
In the first quarter of this year 50 applications for asylum were submitted to Estonian authorities, the number was smaller in only four member states of the EU.
During the first three months of 2015 EU countries received a total of 184,815 first time applications for asylum, 615 more than in the final quarter of last year, the EU statistical office said.

The highest numbers of applicants were registered in Germany, Hungary and Italy, respectively 73,120, 32,810 and 15,245. Slovakia received 50 applications like Estonia. Fewer people sought protection only in Latvia, Lithuania and Slovenia (45 applications each) and Croatia (40 applications).

While more than a fourth of first time asylum seekers registered in member states of the European Union in the first quarter of this year originated from Kosovo, it is mostly Ukrainians who seek asylum in Estonia, figures released by Eurostat show.
Of the 50 asylum applications submitted in Estonia during the same period, 30 were received from Ukrainian citizens, which makes 60 percent of the total. Sudanese and Nepalese applicants numbered five each, accounting equally for 10 percent of the overall number.