CJEU - C‑79/13, Federaal agentschap voor de opvang van asielzoekers v Selver Saciri and Others

Facts:

The Saciri family sought asylum in Belgium in October 2010 and were told by the agency responsible for providing reception to asylum seekers that they could not be provided with accommodation. Unable to find private housing, the family sought financial aid from another agency but this was refused because they were not staying in state reception facilities, despite this being unavailable. The initial reception agency was ordered by a judicial authority to provide financial assistance to the family. On appeal against this order, the Arbeidshof te Brussel (Brussels Higher Labour Court) sought clarification from the CJEU as to the state’s obligations under the Reception Conditions Directive to provide a financial allowance to asylum seekers.

Questions referred:

1.      When a Member State elects, pursuant to Article 13(5) of Directive 2003/9 …, to provide the material support in the form of a financial allowance, does the Member State then still have any responsibility to ensure that the asylum seeker, in one way or another, enjoys the minimum protection measures of that directive as contained in Articles 13(1), 13(2), 14(1), 14(3), 14(5) and 14(8) of the Directive?

2.      Should the financial allowance, provided for by Article 13(5) of … Directive [2003/9], be granted from the date of the application for asylum and the reception request, or from the expiry of the period provided for in Article 5(1) of the directive, or from another date. Should the financial allowance be of such a nature that it allows the asylum seeker, in the absence of material reception facilities provided by the Member State or by an institution designated by the Member State, to provide for his own accommodation at all times, if necessary in the form of hotel accommodation, until such time as he is offered permanent accommodation or as he is able to acquire more permanent accommodation himself?

3.      Is it compatible with … Directive [2003/9] that a Member State only grants the material reception facilities to the extent that the existing reception structures, as established by the State, are able to ensure that accommodation, and refers the asylum seeker who does not find place there for assistance which is available to all the residents of the State, without providing for the necessary statutory rules and structures so that institutions which have not been established by the State itself are effectively able to extend a dignified reception to the asylum applicants within a short period?’

Decision & reasoning:

The first and second questions

With reference to its previous case-law the Court held that the material reception conditions must be granted to the applicants when they apply for asylum.  In addition, the general scheme and purpose of Directive 2003/9 and the observance of fundamental rights, in particular the requirements of Article 1 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, under which human dignity must be respected and protected, preclude the asylum seeker from being deprived – even for a temporary period of time after the making of the application for asylum and before being actually transferred to the responsible Member State – of the protection of the minimum standards laid down by that directive [33, 35].

‘Material reception conditions’ is to be understood as meaning the reception conditions that include housing, food and clothing, provided in kind, or as financial allowances or in vouchers, and a daily expenses allowance. Although the amount of the financial aid granted is to be determined by each Member State, it must be sufficient to ensure a dignified standard of living, adequate for the health of applicants and capable of ensuring their subsistence [38, 40]. The financial allowances must be sufficient to preserve family unity and the best interests of the child are to be a primary consideration [41].

Where a Member State has opted to provide the material reception conditions in the form of financial allowances, those allowances must be sufficient to ensure a dignified standard of living and adequate for the health of applicants and capable of ensuring their subsistence by enabling them to obtain housing, if necessary, on the private rental market.  Nevertheless, the provisions of Directive 2003/9 cannot be interpreted as meaning that it is appropriate to leave the asylum seekers to make their own choice of housing suitable for themselves [42-43].

The third question

Given that the Member States have a certain margin of discretion as regards the methods by which they provide the material reception conditions, they may thus make payment of the financial allowances using the bodies which form part of the general public assistance system as intermediary, provided that those bodies ensure that the minimum standards laid down in that directive as regards the asylum seekers are met. It is up to the Member States to ensure that those bodies meet the minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers and saturation of the reception networks cannot justify any derogation from meeting those standards [48-50].

Outcome:

The Court ruled:

1.      Article 13(5) of Council Directive 2003/9/EC of 27 January 2003 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers must be interpreted as meaning, where a Member State has opted to grant the material reception conditions in the form of financial allowances or vouchers, that those allowances must be provided from the time the application for asylum is made, in accordance with the provisions of Article 13(1) of that directive, and must meet the minimum standards set out in Article 13(2) thereof. That Member State must ensure that the total amount of the financial allowances covering the material reception conditions is sufficient to ensure a dignified standard of living and adequate for the health of applicants and capable of ensuring their subsistence, enabling them in particular to find housing, having regard, if necessary, to the preservation of the interests of persons having specific needs, pursuant to Article 17 of that directive. The material reception conditions laid down in Article 14(1), (3), (5) and (8) of Directive 2003/9 do not apply to the Member States where they have opted to grant those conditions in the form of financial allowances only. Nevertheless, the amount of those allowances must be sufficient to enable minor children to be housed with their parents, so that the family unity of the asylum seekers may be maintained.

2.      Directive 2003/9 must be interpreted as meaning that it does not preclude, where the accommodation facilities specifically for asylum seekers are overloaded, the Member States from referring the asylum seekers to bodies within the general public assistance system, provided that that system ensures that the minimum standards laid down in that directive as regards the asylum seekers are met.

Observations/comments:

The Court adopted the judgment without the Opinion of Advocate General.

Case comment:

The CJEU secures asylum seekers' right to family housing, Steve Peers, February 2014

http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.be/2014/02/what-obligations-do-member-states-have.html?utm_source=Weekly Legal Update&utm_campaign=e1aa1b62f6-WLU_28_02_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_7176f0fc3d-e1aa1b62f6-419648261

Destitute asylum seekers – what are member states’ obligations? Case Comment: Federaal Agentschap v Saciri (C-79/13), Bianca Venkata

http://eutopialaw.com/2014/03/04/destitute-asylum-seekers-what-are-member-states-obligations-case-comment-federaal-agentschap-v-saciri-c-7913/