France and Spain receive more refugees than Germany as cases drop in Europe

Data from the European Union Agency for Asylum (EUAA) showed Syrians lodged around 25,000 requests in the 27-nation bloc plus Switzerland and Norway (EU+), down 66 percent on the same period last year.

"This remarkable reduction is hardly due to policy changes in the EU+," EUAA said in a report, crediting instead the ouster of long-time ruler Bashar al-Assad.

"With the new Syrian authorities advocating for stability and reconstruction, many displaced Syrians have evidently become more hopeful about returning to rebuild their communities".

Syrians, who long accounted for the most applicants, were now the third largest group, behind Venezuelans and Afghans.

In turn Germany was overtaken by France and Spain as the leading destinations for asylum seekers.

In total EU+ countries received 399,000 asylum applications in the first six months of the year.

READ ALSO: What will happen to Germany’s one million Syrians after Assad’s fall?

Beset by economic and political turmoil at home, Venezuelans accounted for 49,000 of them.

The overall decrease will be welcomed in Brussels, as the EU has been under pressure to clamp down on migration, following a souring of public opinion that has fuelled hard-right electoral gains in several member states.

Earlier this year, the European Commission unveiled plans to make it easier to turn away asylum seekers and boost deportations.