Migrants: France's returns policy illegal - EU court

(see related stories on migrants) (ANSA) - ROME, SEP 21 - The EU Court of Justice said Thursday that the France's policy of refusing entry to illegally-staying third-country nationals at its borders with other Member States breaches EU law, in a ruling on an appeal against the policy presented by several associations.
    "Any illegally staying third-country national must, as a general rule, be the subject of a return decision" even when controls have been temporarily reintroduced under the Schengen Borders Code, the court said.
    "However, the person concerned must, in principle, be given a certain amount of time to leave the country voluntarily.
    "Forced removal is used only as a last resort...
    "When a Member State decides to temporarily reintroduce internal border controls, it may adopt a decision to refuse entry solely on the basis of the Schengen Borders Code, without having to comply with the common standards and procedures laid down in the 'Returns' Directive, in respect of a third-country national who is intercepted without a valid residence permit at an authorised border crossing point on its territory where such controls are in force.
    "The Court held that, in such a situation, a decision to refuse entry may be adopted on the basis of the Schengen Borders Code, but that, in order to remove the person concerned, the common standards and procedures laid down in the 'Returns' Directive must still be complied with, which may deprive the adoption of such a decision to refuse entry of much of its usefulness".
    Medical-aid NGO Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières - MSF) said in August that people were being systematically pushed back at the Italian-French border by French police, often with violence and inhumane treatment as well as arbitrary detention.
    It said vulnerable people such as minors, pregnant women and new mothers, elderly people or severely ill persons were not exempted from this practice. (ANSA).