4 March 2016
The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that a requirement that beneficiaries of subsidiary protection who are receiving welfare benefits must live in a certain part of Germany amounts to a restriction on the right to freedom of movement. The ruling goes on to find that this restriction may be justified only in specific situations, on the basis of assisting with their integration. However it cannot be justified by the aim of achieving a fair distribution of social assistance burden across the State.
Julia Zelvenska, ECRE’s Senior Legal Officer, explains that the judgment ‘clarifies that freedom of movement encompasses both the right to move freely and choose the place of residence within the member state that granted international protection’.
For a more detailed summary of the judgment, please see the ELENA Weekly Legal Update.
For further information:
- ELENA Weekly Legal Update, CJEU: Joint Cases C-443/14 and C-444/14 Alo and Osso, 4 March 2016
- CJEU, Press release, 1 March 2016
- EU Observer, EU court backs refugees’ free movement, in most cases, 1 March 2016
This article appeared in the ECRE Weekly Bulletin of 4 March 2016. You can subscribe to the Weekly Bulletin here.