CJEU rulings on the Western Balkan route: Exceptional times do not necessarily call for exceptional measures

11 Monday Dec 2017

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By Neža Kogovšek Šalamon, The Peace Institute – Institute for Contemporary Social and Political Studies

The mass influx of asylum seekers to the European Union through the so-called Western Balkans route was made possible due to one major factor: the countries on the route (i.e. Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Croatia, Hungary, Slovenia, Austria, Germany) collectively disregarded either Schengen rules or, in the case of non-EU states, their own entry rules. As I have discussed elsewhere, the states allowed entry and transit to people who did not meet the required legal conditions.

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Tell me what you see and I’ll tell you if you’re gay: Analysing the Advocate General’s Opinion in Case C-473/16, F v Bevándorlási és Állampolgársági Hivatal

24 Friday Nov 2017

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By Nuno Ferreira and Denise Venturi

 

Hungary in the spotlight again

Hungary has been in the spotlight for all the wrong reasons for quite a while. From legislation targeting ‘foreign-operating universities’ to border walls to keep refugees from entering Hungarian territory, the populist right-wing government of Viktor Orban has been sparking outrage in many sectors of Hungarian society, and the European institutions. The most recent reason for alarm again relates to migration and refugees, an area of widespread criticism of Hungarian authorities. Building on extremely hostile policies towards refugees that have been admonished by both the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), Hungarian authorities now intend to resort to highly dubious means to assess the applications  of individuals claiming asylum on grounds related to their sexual orientation. It was already public knowledge that this category of claimants was subjected to poor treatment by the Hungarian authorities, but recent events suggest that the authorities have reached  a new low.

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The new Italian law on unaccompanied minors: a model for the EU?

13 Monday Nov 2017

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By Elena Rozzi, ASGI

On 6 May 2017, a new legislation regarding the “Protection Measures for Unaccompanied Minors” (law n. 47/17) entered into force in Italy. It is the result of more than three years of advocacy efforts by Save the Children and other NGOs, that have hailed the approval of the so called Zampa law (proposed by Sandra Zampa, member of the Italian Parliament) as a historic moment for the protection of unaccompanied minors in Italy. At international level, UNICEF has commended the new law, indicating that it could serve as a model for other European countries. But is that really the case?

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Refuge ou asile ? La situation de Carles Puigdemont en Belgique au regard du droit de l’Union européenne

06 Monday Nov 2017

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Par Henri Labayle, CDRE & Bruno Nascimbene, Université de Milan

   

Quoique largement circonscrite à la Belgique, l’agitation médiatique provoquée par l’arrivée à Bruxelles de Carles Puigdemont et de certains de ses proches soulève d’intéressants points de droit quant à leur situation sur le territoire d’un autre Etat membre de l’Union. Attisée par les déclarations imprudentes d’un secrétaire d’Etat belge à l’Asile et à la Migration, Theo Francken, cette présence a réveillé d’anciennes querelles entre les deux royaumes concernés tenant tout à la fois à la possibilité pour la Belgique d’accorder l’asile à l’intéressé (1) et, à défaut, de constituer un refuge face aux éventuelles poursuites intentées à son égard par les juridictions espagnoles (2).

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A cold shower for Spain-hot returns from Melilla to Morocco: N.D. and N.T. v Spain ECtHR, 3 October 2017

20 Friday Oct 2017

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By Cristina Gortázar Rotaeche & Nuria Ferré Trad, University P. Comillas (Madrid)

The European Court of Human Rights ruled on 3 October 2017 in the case N.D and N.T v. Spain (available only in French with a translation in Spanish) that the forced returns at stake amount to prohibited collective expulsions in the sense of article 4 of Protocol nº 4 ECHR and that there has also been a violation of article 13 ECHR in conjunction with the previous protocol.

This judgment is of fundamental importance for Spanish border controls at the cities of Ceuta and Melilla. The Spanish State Attorney is for that matter considering to ask the case to be referred to the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR as explained by the Spanish Ministry of the Interior.  N.D. and N.T. are certainly not isolated cases. They are the result of the Spanish legislation and practice on summary returns (devoluciones en caliente) to Morocco from Ceuta and Melilla. Actually, there is currently another pending case before the Court in Doumbe Nnabuchi v. Spain.

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La Catalogne et l’Union européenne : une question de légalité

10 Tuesday Oct 2017

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Par Henri Labayle, CDRE

Les querelles relatives à l’indépendance de la Catalogne ne sont pas indifférentes à l‘espace de liberté, de sécurité et de justice constitué par l’Union européenne. De l’appartenance de la Catalogne au Royaume d’Espagne dépend en effet son appartenance à cette Union européenne et donc son maintien dans cet espace ouvert à la libre circulation et à l’entraide répressive.

Quoi que prétendent les uns ou fantasment les autres, la question n’est pas une question d’opportunité mais, beaucoup plus simplement, de légalité. Légalité du processus entamé par les tenants de l’indépendance, surtout, mais aussi légalité des modalités selon lesquelles l’Union pourrait faire place à une Catalogne indépendante.

Faute de trouver dans le débat médiatique européen le rappel de quelques principes juridiques de bon sens, il n’est pas inutile de faire le point sur une crise inédite.

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