Source: European Parliament
Priority question for written answer P-001525/2025/rev.1
to the Commission
Rule 144
Petra Steger (PfE)
On 12 March 2020, the Austrian federal government decided to temporarily suspend family reunification. However, since family reunification for third-country nationals is governed by Directive 2003/86/EC, which considers family reunification to be a human right, Austria has been forced to apply the so-called emergency clause (Article 72 TFEU), which can be applied by Member States when there is a threat to public order and internal security. Since the emergency clause may only be applied for a limited period of time and no permanent derogation from EU law is permitted, Austria has announced that processing of family reunification applications will be suspended until the end of September 2026 at the latest and that all applications submitted in the meantime will be considered retroactively thereafter, thus exposing Austria to a further catastrophic wave of migration, even though the country’s systems are already completely overburdened. Austrian legislation, moreover, contains a loophole that can be used to specifically override the measure by referring to Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights.
- 1.How does the Commission justify the fact that family reunification is de facto guaranteed in directives such as Directive 2003/86/EC, even though the capacities of some Member States have long been overstretched?
- 2.In the Commission’s view what will happen to third-country nationals who are currently applying for family reunification in Austria and who invoke Article 8 of the European Convention on Human Rights?
- 3.What specific measures does the Commission plan to take to finally grant the Member States’ greater leeway in migration policy?
Submitted: 14.4.2025