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Entrance sign at the ECJ in Luxembourg
Photo: Patrick Scheiber/Kegler / imago images/Patrick Scheiber
According to a legal opinion, unaccompanied minor refugees must be given the opportunity to go to court if an EU member state refuses them admission.
The examination should take place in a court of the rejecting country.
However, allegedly adult relatives of underage refugees do not have the right, argued the responsible Advocate General at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg on Thursday in his Opinion.
The background: The case of a minor Egyptian.
He arrived in Greece and stated that he had an uncle in the Netherlands.
The Greek authorities asked the Netherlands to take the boy in and consider his application for international protection.
However, this was rejected because the Netherlands found no family relationship.
The young Egyptian and his alleged uncle complained about the refusal.
Judgment is expected
The court in The Hague asked the ECJ to interpret various provisions of EU law.
Advocate General Nicholas Emiliou concluded that while the relevant directive of the Dublin Regulation could not be applied here, the Charter of Fundamental Rights gave minors the right to sue here.
When making their decision, the judges of the ECJ do not have to follow the opinion of the Advocate General.
But they are often guided by it.
A date for the verdict has not yet been released.
col/AFP
