[23. 2. 2012] Up until 1st March 2012, the EU Commission is running a public consultation on the right to family reunification of third-country nationals living in the EU. The AGF has published its statement today.
The Consultation refers to the EU Directive on family reunification (Directive 2003/86/EG), adopted in 2003. The Directive defines the conditions of entry and residence for non-EU family members joining a non-EU citizen already legally residing in a Member State. EU citizens are not concerned by this directive.
The AGF emphasizes the need of family unification for migrants as well as for people who permanently reside within a state of the European Union and have made a transnational partner choice. Reliable and transparent regulations are necessary to enable an unhindered family life.
The AGF underlines the importance of a right to family reunification and to facilitate the integration of third country nationals and argues that this focus should be more visible concerning the implementation of the European legislation into national law. As a result, in certain family constellations infringements of the inalienable right to family life can be observed. Thus, the AGF claims for example to widen the scope of eligible family members. Restrictive Regulations regarding familie reunification or pre-entry integration measures are refused by the AGF as ineffective.
In its position, the AGF covers mainly a German perspective and points out that the transposition of the European directive into national law is of crucial importance and still needs significant improvement in Germany according to families.