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Record number of asylum seekers to arrive in Finland: ministry

Xinhua, August 21, 2015 Adjust font size:

The latest estimation made by the Finnish Immigration Service shows that the number of asylum seekers arriving in Finland in 2015 may rise to 15,000, Finnish Ministry of Interior said in a statement on Thursday.

The ministry said that the new prediction, which is 10,000 higher than previous one, was based on the number of applications received this summer.

Earlier this year, the Finnish Immigration Service estimated that asylum seekers in Finland would exceed 7,000 in 2015, which was an all-time record in Finland. The previous record was set in 2009 when Finland accepted 5,988 asylum seekers.

If the latest forecast is realized, it will be definitely a new record in the Finnish history.

The main reason behind the high figure is the escalating crises in North Africa and the Middle East. Currently, the number of asylum seekers is growing throughout Europe.

Petteri Orpo, Finnish minister of Interior, told media that by mid-August the number of asylum seekers arriving in Finland had already reached 5,293, most of which were from Iraq, Somalia, Albania, Afghanistan and Syria. The figure in 2014 was only 3,651.

Finnish Ministry of Interior said that the Finnish Immigration Service will hire 70 and the Finnish Police 50 additional employees in order to deal with the increase in asylum applications.

With the additional employees, the immigration authorities and the police would be able to process about 10,000 applications a year, added the ministry.

Moreover, the Immigration Service has worked together with local authorities and the Finnish Red Cross to open more reception centers to accommodate more asylum seekers.

In spite of the joint efforts made by member states of the European Union, it is also important to tackle the root of the migrant crisis, claimed Orpo. Endit