Article 41 - Right to good administration
Article 47 - Right to an effective remedy and to a fair trial
Key facts of the case:
Reference for a preliminary ruling – Freedom of movement for persons – Article 45 TFEU – Citizenship of the Union – Directive 2004/38/EC – Right of residence for more than three months – Article 14(4)(b) – Jobseekers – Reasonable period of time to acquaint themselves with potentially suitable employment opportunities and take the necessary steps to obtain employment – Requirements imposed by the host Member State on the jobseeker during that period – Conditions governing the right of residence – Obligation to continue seeking employment and to have a genuine chance of being engaged.
Outcome of the case:
On those grounds, the Court (First Chamber) hereby rules:
Article 45 TFEU and Article 14(4)(b) of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC must be interpreted as meaning that a host Member State is required to grant a reasonable period of time to a Union citizen, which starts to run from the time when that Union citizen registered as a jobseeker, in order to allow that person to acquaint himself or herself with potentially suitable employment opportunities and take the necessary steps to obtain employment.
During that period, the host Member State may require the jobseeker to provide evidence that he or she is seeking employment. It is only after the expiry of that period that that Member State may require the jobseeker to show not only that he or she is continuing to seek employment but also that he or she has a genuine chance of being engaged.
1) This request for a preliminary ruling concerns the interpretation of Article 45 TFEU, Articles 15 and 31 of Directive 2004/38/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 29 April 2004 on the right of citizens of the Union and their family members to move and reside freely within the territory of the Member States amending Regulation (EEC) No 1612/68 and repealing Directives 64/221/EEC, 68/360/EEC, 72/194/EEC, 73/148/EEC, 75/34/EEC, 75/35/EEC, 90/364/EEC, 90/365/EEC and 93/96/EEC (OJ 2004 L 158, p. 77, and corrigendum OJ 2004 L 229, p. 35), and Articles 41 and 47 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (‘the Charter’).
...
17) By failing to take into consideration G.M.A.’s employment, the latter claimed that the CCE infringed Articles 15 and 31 of Directive 2004/38 and Articles 41 and 47 of the Charter. It is apparent from those provisions that the courts with jurisdiction to review the legality of an administrative decision concerning the right of residence of a Union citizen must conduct an exhaustive examination of all the relevant circumstances and take into consideration all the matters brought to their attention, even if those matters postdate the decision at issue.
19) The referring court finds that the outcome of the dispute in the main proceedings depends on the Court’s interpretation of Article 45 TFEU, Articles 15 and 31 of Directive 2004/38 and Articles 41 and 47 of the Charter. If those provisions were to be interpreted in the manner suggested by G.M.A., he would be entitled to a right of residence in Belgium for more than three months.
20) Accordingly, the Conseil d’État (Council of State) decided to stay the proceedings and to refer the following questions to the Court of Justice for a preliminary ruling:
‘(1) Is Article 45 [TFEU] to be interpreted and applied as meaning that the host Member State is required (1) to allow jobseekers a reasonable period of time to acquaint themselves with potentially suitable employment opportunities and take the necessary steps to obtain employment,
(2) to accept that the time allowed for seeking employment cannot in any circumstances be less than six months, and (3) to permit a jobseeker to stay within its territory for the whole of that period, without requiring him or her to prove that he or she has a real chance of obtaining employment? (2) Are Articles 15 and 31 of Directive [2004/38], Articles 41 and 47 of the [Charter], and the general principles of primacy of EU law and effectiveness of directives, to be interpreted and applied as meaning that the national courts of the host Member State are required, in the context of an action for annulment brought against a decision refusing to recognise a right of residence of more than three months of an EU citizen, to have regard to new facts and matters arising after the decision of the national authorities, where such facts and matters are capable of altering the situation of the person concerned in such a way that it is no longer permissible to restrict his or her right of residence in the host Member State?’
52) By its second question, the referring court asks the Court, in essence, whether Articles 15 and 31 of Directive 2004/38, Articles 41 and 47 of the Charter and the principles of primacy and effectiveness must be interpreted as meaning that the courts of the host Member State are required, when examining an action against a decision refusing to grant a jobseeker a right of residence for more than three months, to carry out a review of unlimited jurisdiction and to take account of factors arising after that decision, where those factors are likely to change the jobseeker’s situation and justify granting that right of residence.
