Number of Migrants in Norway Nears Record Levels Last Seen in 1994

The number of migrants coming to Norway is approaching the record levels set in 1994, when the crisis in the Balkans had forced more than 11,000 Bosnians to flee to the country, local media reported Tuesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – The number of municipalities ready to accommodate refugees is also growing, according to the VG news portal. A total of 235 municipalities have already confirmed that they are willing to provide shelter and work to migrants.

“There is no doubt that the government pays a lot of attention to settling migrants into the Norwegian community… generally, we are approaching the figure of 11,000 places for refugees,” Bjorn Holden, the representative of the Ministry for Migrants, said.

The migration question is one of the most acute issues facing Norway. According to the European Asylum Support Office, the number of asylum applications lodged in Norway and Switzerland increased by two-thirds in the first five months of 2015.

Europe is currently struggling to cope with a large-scale refugee influx. According to the European Union’s external border agency Frontex, over 340,000 migrants have entered several border European countries since the beginning of 2015.