Brussels, 28/08/2008 (Agence Europe) - Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen has reiterated his intention not to change his country's rules on immigration, thus bringing into question a ruling made by the Court of Justice of the European Communities on 25 July regarding Irish legislation on family reunification. “Denmark's immigration policy is not going to change. The voters need to know that the law holds”, Mr Rasmussen said during a speech delivered on Tuesday 26 August, reported by Bloomberg. The Luxembourg magistrates stated that the “non-EU” spouse of a European citizen could move freely and stay with that citizen in the Union without having to have legally lived in a member state first (EUROPE 9716). The problem is that this decision runs counter to increasingly restrictive policies set in place on such issues in several EU member states, as in Ireland, Denmark and the Netherlands. Copenhagen has applied a strict policy since 2002 that has brought down the number of persons who entered the country in the context of family reunification from 15,300 in 2001 to 4,500 last year. For example, the spouse who arrives must be aged at least 24 and have a bank guarantee of €8,000 valid for seven years. The person already resident in the country and who makes the request must demonstrate that he/she has an income (€1300 gross per month) and sufficient housing. Above all, however, the government does not authorise reunification of couples having previously lived in other member states, which contradicts the European 2004 directive on free movement. Such measures aim to discourage marriages of convenience. Convinced that the Luxembourg ruling will entail a rise in requests for permits to stay, Mr Rasmussen said that his government intended to call on the European institutions and on the other member states to prevent any change in the Danish regulations. “We're trying to change the set of rules inside the EU so that we can get things as we want them”, the prime minister said. (B.C./transl.jl)