The proposal says “emergency mechanisms” could be invoked by the end of the month to ensure all EU countries share “persons in clear need of international protection”. Asylum applications in the EU jumped by 44 per cent in 2014 to 626,000, according to EU statistics agency Eurostat. More than 200,000, or one in three, were registered in Germany, followed by Sweden with 81,200 and Italy with 64,600.