Strasbourg, 07/02/2012 (Agence Europe) - It is a first, it is a move in the right direction, and it is important to say so. The European Commission has officially consulted the Council of Europe with regard to the directive on the right to family reunification (2003/86/EC). Seeing the EU drawing on the expertise of the oldest of pan-European organisations can only be welcomed, in particular as the matter concerned falls within the ambit of the Council of Europe migration, refugees and population committee. According to the chairman of this committee Italian Giacomo Santini of the Centre-Right European People's Party Group, the move is all the more welcome as this is one of the burning issues of the moment.
The European Commission will, then, receive a note from the committee by 1 March setting out the position on family reunification, to complement the opinions of other bodies consulted, among whom feature a number of inter-governmental organisations. Thereafter, a hearing will be held, with a decision on whether or not to adopt further measures. In short, it will be about seeing whether the directive should be amended, whether new interpretative guidelines should be introduced, or whether there should be no change. The migrations committee feels that keeping things as they stand is not a possibility. The directive is a minimum standard threatened by the tendency among a number of member states to impose tougher conditions, the text says, while Santini states that, while family policy is a national area of responsibility, the directive must remain a solid basis, below which no country should be able to go without exemption from the legislation. This common basis is extremely difficult to define as EU member states differ in the very definition of “family”. This, it is noted, varies according to the value and importance given to the principle of dependence, and the Council of Europe recommendation calls for the inclusion of de facto family members: illegitimate children, children over the age of 18 who are still a dependent, children custody of whom is shared, the elderly and/or dependents such as cohabiting partners, including of the same sex. “We know that this last point could be a serious stumbling block”, said Santini, “as homosexual marriage has so far only been recognised in a few countries. Lots of prejudices exist still and the chances of having a member state review provisions already made - including with regard to putting in place DNA testing to prove parenthood - are slim but the role of the Council of Europe is to maintain the greater interest of the child and of the most vulnerable groups”. The note to be sent to the Commission states that family reunification is at the basis of successful integration and nothing is to be gained from increasing asylum conditions. “In a recommendation in 2004, we called on member states to be less rigid”, commented Santini, “in particular with regard to knowledge of the language, proving there is an income, accommodation, the legality of a marriage contract or a work contract, etc.” Ultimately, it is respect for family life, the rights of the child and the principle of non-discrimination as defined by the case law of the European Court of Human Rights, which was itself founded on the convention of the same name, that the migration committee note argues. All 27 member states having signed the Convention, it would seem logical that they comply with it, including in their asylum policies, but Santini is well aware that the “economic and identity crisis affecting Europe at the moment does not help integration proposals as recommended by this text”. He argues that it is essential that Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights is put back at the centre of the debate: “Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life”. “A refusal of entry can deny this right”, Santini said, gong on: “It is better, then, to seek to resolve the problem by legalising the situation for humanitarian reasons.”
Directive 2003/86/EC of the Council of the European Union on the right to family reunification was put out to consultation following a first consultation exercise conducted in 2008, preceding the publication of a Green Paper. (VL/transl.rt)