Brussels, 19/12/2013 (Agence Europe) - On 19 December (Case C-84/12), the EU Court of Justice ruled that a member state may only refuse a Schengen visa on the grounds expressly provided for in the EU Visa Code. Member states do, however, have a large margin of discretion for determining whether one of those grounds of refusal applies to the applicant. Referral was made to the Court by the Berlin Administrative Court for interpretation of the conditions of refusal of a Schengen visa. The German court is to rule on an action brought by an Iranian national against Germany, whose embassy in Tehran refused to issue him a Schengen visa for the purposes of a visit to Germany - on the grounds that there was significant doubt as to the applicant's intention to return to Iran before the expiry of the visa applied for. According to the Court, the refusal to issue a Schengen visa must be adopted in the context of Article 32 of the Visa Code, which provides that the reasons for the refusal decision must be stated. This is to ensure that there are no differences between the member states as regards the determination of the grounds for refusal of such visas. Such differences could mean that the aim of facilitation of legitimate travel would be jeopardised and bring about “visa shopping” within the EU, which is precisely what the Visa Code seeks to prevent. However, in the examination of a visa application, the national authorities have wide discretion concerning the conditions for application of those grounds and regarding whether one of those grounds for refusal can be applied to the applicant. In the case in hand, the Visa Code provides that a visa may be refused if there is reasonable doubt as to the applicant's intention to leave the territory of the member state before expiry of the visa applied for, and states that there is no requirement that the competent authorities must be certain as to whether the applicant intends to leave the territory of the member state before the expiry of the visa applied for. On the other hand, in the event of doubt, the relevant authorities must make an individual and in-depth examination of the request taking into account all relevant elements (situation of the country or origin of the applicant; economic, family and social situation; former visits, etc). (FG/transl.jl)