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European Court of Justice in Luxembourg (symbol image)
Photo: Arne Immanuel Bänsch / dpa
Germany has violated EU law with its rules on the reunification of family members of refugees.
The judges at the European Court of Justice ruled that family reunification should not be denied because a minor child has come of age during ongoing proceedings.
The background to this are two cases in which German authorities refused to allow Syrians to be reunited with their families or to join family members because those affected had come of age in the course of the proceedings.
In one procedure, parents from Syria had applied for visas for family reunification with their underage son, who was recognized as a refugee in Germany.
In another, an underage Syrian woman wanted to go to her father, who was recognized as a refugee in Germany.
According to the ECJ, the German approach is not compatible with the Charter of Fundamental Rights
An administrative court obliged the German authorities to issue visas for family reunification to those affected.
But the Federal Republic appealed to the Federal Administrative Court, which appealed to the ECJ.
With Monday's verdict, he confirmed a previous ruling by the EU's highest court.
The aim of the relevant EU rules is to promote family reunification and, in particular, to protect minors, it said.
The German approach is neither compatible with these goals nor with the requirements of the Charter of Fundamental Rights (cases C-273/20, C-355/20, C-279/20).
The refugee organization Pro Asyl spoke of “good news for families torn apart”.
This means a »180 degree turnaround« for Germany.
ECJ strengthens rights of underage refugees in general
In another judgment, the European Court of Justice strengthened the rights of underage refugees who apply for international protection in Germany.
According to this, it must not play a role in an application whether the minor's parents have previously been granted international protection in another Member State (Case C-720/20).
The prerequisite, however, is that the minor has not previously asked for protection in writing in another country.
In addition, no other EU state may be responsible for the test procedure under EU law.
The background to the judge's ruling is the case of a Russian minor whose application for international protection in Germany was rejected because her family had already received protection status in Poland.
According to Germany, the Polish authorities were responsible for examining her application.
The case will now be further negotiated before the administrative court in Cottbus.
fek/dpa
