Belgium slammed for expelling Portuguese woman
TERESA KÜCHLER
23.03.2006 @ 17:45 CET
EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - The EU's top court has ruled that Belgium breached EU law by refusing a Portuguese woman and her children a residence permit in because she was not provided for by a legal spouse.
Belgian authorities had judged that Mrs De Figueiredo - a Portuguese national who came to Belgium with her daughters in 1999 to live with her Belgian partner - had to earn enough money to support herself and her children, or have a legal husband to provide for her in order to remain in the country.
At the same time, Mrs De Figueiredo’s partner declared to the Belgian authorities that he was supporting her, but the Belgian authorities dismissed him as not legally connected to Mrs De Figueiredo.
According to the judgement, announced on Thursday (23 March) by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg, Mrs De Figueiredo was cared for by her long-term Belgian partner and should therefore have been granted residence.
An EU directive on free movements of people states that union citizens can move to and reside in another member state provided that they have health insurance and sufficient resources to avoid becoming a burden to the host country's social assistance system.
"The directive on free movement of people does not regard if the money is personal, from the family or if it comes from any other source," a spokesperson for the commission said on Thursday.
The commission spokesperson said the money could come from a friend or partner or a family member other than a spouse.
"With today's ruling, the rights of EU citizens to move and reside freely in EU member states have been substantially enforced," the spokesman said.
Automatic expulsion slammed
Belgium was also slammed for having introduced automatic expulsion procedures of persons who could not within a prescribed time come up with the necessary documents to obtain a residence permit.
Belgian authorities had stated that they considered themselves entitled to deport a citizen of the Union who resided in Belgium for more than three months, which is the tourist limit.
The court backed the commission in saying that whether a person fulfils the criteria demanded for residence or not, it had to be tested before any expulsion, and that it could not be carried out in an automatic manner.
Belgian interior minister Patrick Dewael reacted calmly to the ruling, saying the judicial service in his cabinet would go through the case.
"If found correct the new rules will be integrated in the Belgian system immediately," his spokesperson said.