Brussels, 04/05/2015 (Agence Europe) - Community law does not prevent member states from obliging third-country nationals with long-term resident status (more than five years) from taking a civic integration examination, on pain of a fine.
This is the conclusion reached by the Court of Justice of the EU, in a judgment returned on Thursday 4 June (case C-579/13) regarding the legislation in force in the Netherlands. This legislation obliges this category of nationals to pass an integration examination (Dutch language and social knowledge). A fine (of up to €1,000) is imposed on those who fail. The candidate must resit the examination until he or she passes it, on pain of a further, higher fine.
The Court takes the view that although the level of the fine and the registration fee of €230 are likely to jeopardise the objectives of directive 2003/109/EC on the status of third-country nationals with long-term resident status, the very principle of a binding examination of this kind is compatible with EU law. The Court bases its judgment on the fact that the results of this examination do not call the resident status into question and that its objectives are legitimate, i.e. promoting integration. (Jan Kordys)