(see related stories on migrants)
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.
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