On Thursday 18 December 2025, the Court of Justice of the European Union ruled in the Sidi Bouzid case (C-184/24) that a Member State cannot withdraw all material reception conditions from an applicant for international protection simply because the applicant refuses to be transferred to another accommodation centre.
The case concerns an applicant for international protection and his minor child, living in Milan. In 2023, the Milan prefecture decided to withdraw these conditions, including accommodation, food and clothing, after the applicant repeatedly refused to be transferred, with his child, to another accommodation centre in the same city.
The transfer was motivated by considerations relating to the organisation of the reception facilities, but the claimant maintained that this change would have disrupted his child’s schooling and that he would find it impossible, after withdrawal, to meet their vital needs.
Asked by the Italian administrative court to clarify the interpretation of the 2013 directive laying down standards for the reception of persons seeking international protection, the Court pointed out that the directive allows the reception conditions of applicants for international protection to be limited or withdrawn if they “abandon” their place of residence - which would imply disappearance or evasion of the authorities - which is not the case for an applicant who remains in the initial accommodation centre.
Nevertheless, the Court accepts that a repeated refusal may justify a penalty, provided that it remains proportionate and does not compromise the applicant’s vital needs.
To see the judgment of the Court of Justice: https://aeur.eu/f/k48 (Original version in French by Nithya Paquiry)