Brussels, 02/07/2009 (Agence Europe) - While eight million European citizens have chosen to settle in a member state other than their state of nationality, the European Commission adopted, on Thursday 2 July, guidelines for improving transposition and application of the 2004 directive on the right of EU citizens and their families to move and reside freely within the territory of the EU member states. “These guidelines should provide solutions to a number of problems without bringing into question the right of EU citizens to move to and reside in other member states”, said Jacques Barrot, European Commissioner for Justice, Security and Freedom. The guidelines, however, should also help to combat any abusive use more effectively. “They will be a great help for governments in combating abuse, especially marriages of convenience”, the commissioner explained during a press conference.
In July 2008, the Court of Justice of the European Communities delivered the Metock judgement whereby Luxembourg magistrates stated that “non-EU”, foreign spouses of European citizens may move and reside with their husband/wife in the Union without having legally lived in a member state before their marriage (EUROPE 9716). This judgement had caused anger in several countries, especially Denmark, which spoke of the risk of marriages of convenience increasing in Europe and called for the directive to be revised (EUROPE 9728). Given these protests, the EU Council had therefore entrusted the European Commission with the task of making out an assessment report for December 2008 on application of the directive. The report concluded that, on the whole, transposition of the directive left much to be desired (EUROPE 9801). The Commission was also tasked with publishing guidelines on application of the directive which would deal with restrictions to free movement in the event of abuse. Speaking at a press conference, Jacques Barrot said: “We felt it was not necessary to review the directive because, as it stands, it already fights effectively against abuse”. He added: “It would be more of an inconvenience than an advantage to rewrite the directive”.
The guidelines published on Thursday by the Commission are not binding. Their main aim is to assist member states on a number of subjects such as transposition and application, considered to be problematical. They also aim to clarify the rights of citizens and their family members and to offer assistance to member states on measures they can take to combat abuse. The guidelines are divided into three parts: - 1) entry and residence of EU citizens and their family members. This section clarifies the notion of dependency of members of the household, the conditions for the issuing of visas and residence cards to third country family members, and the notion of sufficient resources for citizens other than workers and students; - 2) restrictions of the right to move and reside freely on grounds of public policy or public security. The right of free movement within the EU carries with it obligations on the part of its beneficiaries, which implies that the laws of the host country must be obeyed; - and 3) abuse and fraud. This section concerns measures to fight against abuse and fraud, such as marriages of convenience.
“A member state may verify the individual situation of an EU national present on its territory but targeted and not general verifications are needed”, Mr Barrot stressed at a press conference. Concerning the notion of sufficient resources, he pointed out that “the member state may verify whether the resources of the national from another member state are sufficient (…) but no member state has the right to define a general amount of resources”. Verification must be based on examination of the person's individual situation. A member state will generally avoid penalising a job seeker, unlike persons living from begging or prostitution, Mr Barrot said. “When public order and security are in question, there can be a limit to the right of residence and movement but there must be a real threat and checks in proportion to that threat”, he added. Finally, for marriages of convenience, member states must not take general measures against all immigrants or those of a specific origin, the commissioner said. “The member state nonetheless has the possibility to control a number of suspect unions given the length of time they have lasted, the place where the couple lives, and their economic and financial commitments”, he stressed.
The Commission said that it would continue its dialogue with member state experts in order to gather information and exchange best practice. It also seeks to update the simplified citizens' manual and draft an article on citizens' rights to be published on Wikepedia. It will continue to closely monitor application on the ground of the directive on free movement and will make full use of the competences conferred upon it by the treaty to ensure that European Union citizens may fully exercise their rights. (B.C./transl.jl)