Germany says EU states must implement court ruling on migrants swiftly

Record ID: 909357

  • Title: Germany says EU states must implement court ruling on migrants swiftly
  • Date: 6th September 2017
  • Summary: BERLIN, GERMANY (SEPTEMBER 6, 2017) (REUTERS) VARIOUS EXTERIORS OF GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTRY GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER SIGMAR GABRIEL ARRIVING FOR STATEMENT (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SIGMAR GABRIEL, SAYING: "Now this means, in my view, that the plaintiffs who did not win their case, who were shown that their lawsuit would have no effect, must now implement the decisions in Europe. We expect that in Europe the law is obeyed, and where it is disputed the European Court of Justice decides. Here the old saying applies: in court you never get justice, only a verdict. That verdict must be obeyed to guarantee peace under the law, legal certainty and clarity in Europe. I think the trust placed (by the plaintiffs) in the European justice system was absolutely right, and now we trust that the member states who went to the ECJ -because they trusted it and it was the right place for them to go - that these member states now implement this verdict." CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN FOREIGN MINISTER, SIGMAR GABRIEL, SAYING WHEN ASKED IF THE EU COULD IN GOOD CONSCIENCE SEND ASYLUM SEEKERS TO HUNGARY: "It cannot be that perpetrators of violence can make sure their country doesn't have to follow European law because everyone is afraid to go there. Of course the law must be implemented and anyone who does not do so is threatened with a completely normal infringement procedure in Europe, which can cost quite a lot of money. It cannot be the case that European tax payers provide money without being able to expect that European law is implemented. In Europe it is not acceptable to receive money while at the same time violating the rule of law. Therefore in cases of doubt, infringement procedures can have financial consequences." FOREIGN MINISTRY LOGO GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER THOMAS DE MAIZIERE ARRIVING FOR STATEMENT CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: "I emphatically welcome today's decision by the ECJ. Back in the historic situation of September 2015, my then French colleague and I took the unusual initiative of distributing refugees according to the principle of solidarity via a majority decision of the European Council. This initiative was unprecedented and unusual but it was necessary. Today the ECJ has confirmed that it was also lawful and legally binding." DE MAIZIERE SPEAKING (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: "This is a good and important signal that the issue of refugees can only be solved with European solidarity, internally but also in terms of foreign policy towards countries outside the EU. And everything that is linked to this issue - securing external borders, protecting people who come to Europe legally - all that is only possible with European solidarity." CAMERAS (SOUNDBITE) (German) GERMAN INTERIOR MINISTER, THOMAS DE MAIZIERE, SAYING: "I now expect the affected countries to fulfill their obligations completely, to accept the ruling, to take in the number of refugees that have been allocated to them and to make sure that they stay in those countries." DE MAIZIERE SPEAKING
  • Embargoed: 20th September 2017 14:33
  • Keywords: European Court of Justice ECJ migrants asylum seekers European Union Hungary Slovakia
  • Location: BERLIN, GERMANY
  • City: BERLIN, GERMANY
  • Country: Germany
  • Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA0016XGHUFB
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel and Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere on Wednesday (September 6) welcomed a ruling by the European Union's highest court which said EU states must accept refugees and asylum seekers, and urged swift action from member states.
    The Luxembourg-based European Court of Justice (ECJ) rejected claims by Hungary and Slovakia that it was illegal for Brussels to order them to take in hundreds of mainly Muslim refugees from Syria, which they said threatened the security and stability of their societies.
    Germany, which took in the bulk of over a million people who landed in Greece two years ago, said it expected the formerly communist states, including Poland, which supported the complaint, to now fall in line and accept the ruling that the Union is entitled to impose quotas of asylum-seekers on states.
    Hungary and Poland have refused to host a single person under the 2015 sharing scheme, while Slovakia and the Czech Republic have each taken in only a dozen or so.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2017. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
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