Case C‑79/13

Federaal agentschap voor de opvang van asielzoekers

v

Selver Saciri and Others

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Arbeidshof te Brussel)

‛Directive 2003/9/EC — Minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States — Article 13(1) — Time-limits for material reception conditions — Article 13(2) — Provisions on material reception conditions — Guarantees — Article 13(5) — Setting and grant of minimum reception conditions for asylum seekers — Size of the aid granted — Article 14 — Modalities for material reception conditions — Saturation of the reception facilities — Referral to national social protection systems — Provision of the material reception conditions in the form of financial allowances’

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 27 February 2014

1. Border controls, asylum and immigration — Asylum policy — Minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States — Directive 2003/9 — Grant of minimum reception conditions — Provision of the material reception conditions in the form of financial allowances — Obligation on the host Member State to provide those allowances from the time the application for asylum is made — Determination of the amount of the financial allowances — Criteria — Applicability of the material receptions conditions laid down in Article 14(1), (3), (5) and (8) of Directive 2003/9 — Absence — Amount of allowances sufficient to maintain the family unit

   (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 1; Council Directive 2003/9, Arts 13, 14, 17 and 18(1))

2. Border controls, asylum and immigration — Asylum policy — Minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States — Directive 2003/9 — Grant of minimum reception conditions — Provision of the material reception conditions in the form of financial allowances — Possible to refer the asylum seekers to bodies within the general public assistance system where the accommodation facilities are overloaded — Conditions — Compliance by those bodies with the minimum reception standards for asylum seekers

   (Council Directive 2003/9)

1.  Article 13(5) of Directive 2003/9 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States 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 granted 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.

   (see para. 46, operative part 1)

2.  Directive 2003/9 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States must be interpreted as not precluding, 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.

   (see para. 51, operative part 2)

Case C‑79/13

Federaal agentschap voor de opvang van asielzoekers

v

Selver Saciri and Others

(Request for a preliminary ruling from the Arbeidshof te Brussel)

‛Directive 2003/9/EC — Minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States — Article 13(1) — Time-limits for material reception conditions — Article 13(2) — Provisions on material reception conditions — Guarantees — Article 13(5) — Setting and grant of minimum reception conditions for asylum seekers — Size of the aid granted — Article 14 — Modalities for material reception conditions — Saturation of the reception facilities — Referral to national social protection systems — Provision of the material reception conditions in the form of financial allowances’

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Fourth Chamber), 27 February 2014

1. Border controls, asylum and immigration — Asylum policy — Minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States — Directive 2003/9 — Grant of minimum reception conditions — Provision of the material reception conditions in the form of financial allowances — Obligation on the host Member State to provide those allowances from the time the application for asylum is made — Determination of the amount of the financial allowances — Criteria — Applicability of the material receptions conditions laid down in Article 14(1), (3), (5) and (8) of Directive 2003/9 — Absence — Amount of allowances sufficient to maintain the family unit

   (Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, Art. 1; Council Directive 2003/9, Arts 13, 14, 17 and 18(1))

2. Border controls, asylum and immigration — Asylum policy — Minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States — Directive 2003/9 — Grant of minimum reception conditions — Provision of the material reception conditions in the form of financial allowances — Possible to refer the asylum seekers to bodies within the general public assistance system where the accommodation facilities are overloaded — Conditions — Compliance by those bodies with the minimum reception standards for asylum seekers

   (Council Directive 2003/9)

1.  Article 13(5) of Directive 2003/9 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States 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 granted 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.

   (see para. 46, operative part 1)

2.  Directive 2003/9 laying down minimum standards for the reception of asylum seekers in the Member States must be interpreted as not precluding, 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.

   (see para. 51, operative part 2)