Brussels, 01/10/2015 (Agence Europe) - EU law does not prevent a member state from imprisoning a third-country national who unlawfully enters its territory in breach of an entry ban.
Thus ruled the Court of Justice of the EU on Thursday 1 October in coming to a different conclusion from the one offered by Advocate General Maciej Szpunar in April (see EUROPE 11304). In its ruling (case C-290/14), the Court ultimately decided that the “return directive” (2008/115/EC) does not, in principle, preclude legislation of a member state which classifies the unlawful re-entry of a third-country national in breach of an entry ban as an offence, as is the case in Italy. In such situations, therefore, penal sanctions may be imposed, including imprisonment, provided that the legislation complies with fundamental rights, including the Geneva Convention, and not liable to jeopardise the attainment of the objectives pursued by the directive.
The Court states that the implementation of a return policy is an integral part of the development, by the EU, of a common immigration policy aimed at ensuring, inter alia, the prevention of illegal immigration and enhanced measures to combat it. (Original version in French by Jan Kordys)