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A first statistical report on asylum and migration was prepared by the Commission services in co-operation with data providers in Member States and published on this website in 2004. It covered the year 2001 and provided a picture of patterns and trends with respect to migrants, asylum applicants, refugees and enforcement measures against illegal immigration in the 15 European Union Member States at that time, plus the ten countries which were then in the process of acceding to the EU, and four other countries closely associated to the European Union (Norway, Iceland, Bulgaria, Romania).
Based on this experience, a report for the year 2002 was prepared by a group of experts from the Berlin Institute for Social Research (BIVS) and the Groupe d’étude de Démographie Appliquée (GéDAP) in co-operation with the European Migration Network (EMN). The same experts have now prepared the comprehensive report for the year 2003, also covering 29 countries.
The preparation of the 2003 Annual Statistical Report proceeded in the following manner. The data sets are based on material sent to Eurostat by the National Statistical Offices (and in some cases by other administrative bodies, e.g. Ministries of Interior) in the 29 countries concerned. The Eurostat data has also been the subject of discussions and revisions by members of the working group preparing the Annual Report with Eurostat officials. The core activities of the working group are related to improving the data situation in general and concentrating on data in the areas of migration flows, settlement, asylum and illegal migration.
It must be noted that these tables do not replace the usual publication of official statistics by national authorities and Eurostat, but they do provide a unique mix of data, some of which have not previously been publicly available.
The 2003 report is introduced by an in-depth study on European migration patterns, the situation in 2003 and an analysis of the main trends, also in the context of international migratory flows. Then follow the detailed tables on stock and flow of immigrants, data on emigration and net migration, residence permits, international protection and enforcement measures against illegal immigration. An explanation of methodological questions is provided in the 'metadata' section.
Finally, there are country reports for each of the 29 countries covered; some of them were prepared by the National Contact points of the European Migration Network, while others were prepared by the Berlin Institute for Social Research (BIVS).