Luxembourg, 27/06/2006 (Agence Europe) - The European Court of Justice has confirmed the validity of the 2003 European directive (No. 2003/86) the right to family reunification by nationals of non-member States. It rejected Parliament's arguments for annulling the directive because it regarded it as contrary to fundamental rights, in particular the right to respect for family life and the right to non-discrimination. A press release indicated that the Court had not gone beyond the limits imposed by fundamental law when it allowed Member States to derogate certain aspects of law on reunification, particularly for children aged over 12.
The Court considers that the European Convention on Human Rights, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the EU recognise the principle of respect for family life but that they do not create for the members of a family an individual right to be allowed to enter the territory of a State and cannot be interpreted as denying Member States a certain margin of appreciation when they examine applications for family reunification. The Court also states that applying an integration condition for a child aged 12 or over is a measure that is determined by the limited margin of discretion for Member States accorded to them by the European Court of Human Rights - in its case-law on the subject.
The directive on family reunification allows Member States in certain circumstances to apply national legislation derogating from the rules that apply in principle to a national of a non-member State lawfully living in the European Community being in principle entitled to the grant of authorisation by the host Member State allowing his children to join him by way of family reunification. Derogations include the possibility of Member States being able to verify whether a child aged 12 meets an integration condition; applications in respect of children can only if they are submitted before the children have reached 15; the “sponsor” is required to have stayed lawfully in its territory for a period not exceeding two years, before having his family members join him. A Member State may provide for a waiting period of no more than three years between submission of the application for family reunification and the issue of a residence permit to the family members .