# C_2022213EN.01002801.xml

| 30.5.2022 | EN | Official Journal of the European Union | C 213/28 |
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30.5.2022

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 213/28

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Request for a preliminary ruling from the Raad van State (Netherlands) lodged on 2 March 2022 — S, A, Staatssecretaris van Veiligheid en Justitie; Other party: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

(Case C-151/22)

(2022/C 213/38)

Language of the case: Dutch

Referring court

Raad van State

Parties to the main proceedings

Appellants: S, A, Staatssecretaris van Veiligheid en Justitie

Other party: United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

Questions referred

| 1. | Must Article 10(1)(e) of the Qualification Directive (1) be interpreted as meaning that political opinion as a reason for persecution may also be invoked by applicants who merely claim to hold a political view, and/or to express such a view, without having attracted the negative interest of an actor of persecution during their residence in their country of origin and since their residence in the host country? |
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1.

Must Article 10(1)(e) of the Qualification Directive (1) be interpreted as meaning that political opinion as a reason for persecution may also be invoked by applicants who merely claim to hold a political view, and/or to express such a view, without having attracted the negative interest of an actor of persecution during their residence in their country of origin and since their residence in the host country?

| 2. | If the answer to Question 1 is in the affirmative, and a political view is thus sufficient to qualify as a political opinion, what weight must be given to the strength of that political view, thought or belief and to the importance to the foreign national of the activities stemming from it in the examination and assessment of an asylum application, that is to say, the examination of the reality of that applicant’s alleged fear of persecution? |
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2.

If the answer to Question 1 is in the affirmative, and a political view is thus sufficient to qualify as a political opinion, what weight must be given to the strength of that political view, thought or belief and to the importance to the foreign national of the activities stemming from it in the examination and assessment of an asylum application, that is to say, the examination of the reality of that applicant’s alleged fear of persecution?

| 3. | If the answer to Question 1 is in the negative, is the criterion then that such a political opinion must be deeply rooted, and if not, what is the relevant criterion and how is it to be applied? |
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3.

If the answer to Question 1 is in the negative, is the criterion then that such a political opinion must be deeply rooted, and if not, what is the relevant criterion and how is it to be applied?

| 4. | If the criterion is that the political opinion must be deeply rooted, can an applicant who fails to demonstrate that he or she holds a deeply rooted political opinion be expected to refrain from expressing that political opinion upon return to the country of origin, so as not to arouse the negative interest of an actor of persecution? |
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4.

If the criterion is that the political opinion must be deeply rooted, can an applicant who fails to demonstrate that he or she holds a deeply rooted political opinion be expected to refrain from expressing that political opinion upon return to the country of origin, so as not to arouse the negative interest of an actor of persecution?

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(1)  Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted (OJ 2011 L 337, p. 9).

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