CJEU decision to refuse a humanitarian visa to a Syrian refugee family
29.3.2017
Question for written answer E-002183-17
to the Commission
Rule 130
Konstantinos Papadakis (NI)
EU Member States ‘are not required, under EC law, to grant a humanitarian visa to persons who wish to enter their territory with a view to applying for asylum’.
That was the position taken by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a case on a preliminary ruling by the Belgian Court before which a Syrian family — facing persecution on religious grounds — had brought an action against the dismissal of their request for a humanitarian visa to go to Belgium and apply for asylum.
The ‘spirit’ of the Dublin Rules which trap refugees in the Member State of first entry came above the protection of human life, as locking refugees in a country is now legitimate even in the neighbouring third countries to which refugees flee.
In view of this:
- —Does the EU recognise the rights of refugees and those who are eligible for international protection under the Geneva Convention?
- —Does the Commission recognise the right to asylum or humanitarian status in the Member States of refugees who have fled to neighbouring third countries, without being forced to become victims of human traffickers, to risk their lives and suffer the humiliation of internment in camps and hot spots?