An efficient administrative system for handling the cases is a necessity. The EU has proposed reforms towards this end that would coordinate the procedures across Europe. Last year the Spanish government drafted a law proposal with measures that adapt to the EU’s requests for asylum procedures. The measures included setting a deadline of 30 days after arrival for asylum seekers to submit their claim and allowing coming from a so-called “safe country” as a reason to deny a request. By and large, the measures make it quicker to reject certain claims.
Spain’s ability to handle asylum cases has been put to the test in recent years more than ever before. According to Eurostat, Spain received a record high number of asylum claims with 117,800—up from 54,050 the year before, which had been enough to draw concern from experts and local authorities. The 118 percent increase from 2018 to 2019 was the highest of any member state of the European Union. Citizens of Venezuela (40,906) and Colombia (29,363) accounted for 59 percent of the asylum claims in Spain for 2019.