Commission of the European Communities v Kingdom of Belgium.
Date: 2006-03-23
34. The right to reside within the territory of the Member States under Article 18(1) EC is conferred directly on every citizen of the Union by a clear and precise provision of the EC Treaty subject to the limitations and conditions laid down by the EC Treaty and by the measures adopted to give it effect (Case C-413/99 Baumbast and R  [2002] ECR I-7091, paragraphs 84 and 85).
37. Those conditions, read in the light of the fourth recital in the preamble to that directive, according to which beneficiaries of the right of residence must not become an unreasonable burden on the public finances of the host Member State, are based on the idea that the exercise of the right of residence of citizens of the Union can be subordinated to the legitimate interests of the Member States ( Baumbast and R , paragraph 90).
– Consideration of the first plea
39. It must be borne in mind that it is settled case-law that the limitations and conditions laid down in the first subparagraph of Article 1(1) of Directive 90/364 must be applied in compliance with the limits imposed by Community law and in accordance with the general principles of that law, in particular the principle of proportionality. That means that national measures adopted on that subject must be necessary and appropriate to attain the objective pursued (see Baumbast and R , paragraph 91).
40. In paragraphs 30 and 31 of its judgment in Case C-200/02 Zhu and Chen  [2004] ECR I-9925, the Court held that according to the very terms of the first subparagraph of Article 1(1) of Directive 90/364, it is sufficient for the nationals of Member States to ‘have’ the necessary resources, and that provision lays down no requirement whatsoever as to their origin. The correctness of that interpretation is reinforced by the fact that provisions laying down a fundamental principle such as that of the free movement of persons must be interpreted broadly.
41. The Court therefore held that an interpretation of the condition concerning the sufficiency of resources within the meaning of Directive 90/364 to mean that the person concerned must himself have such resources and may not rely on the resources of a member of the family accompanying him would add to that condition, as formulated in that directive, a requirement as to the origin of the resources which, not being necessary for the attainment of the objective pursued, namely the protection of the public finances of the Member States, would constitute a disproportionate interference with the exercise of the fundamental right of freedom of movement and of residence upheld by Article 18 EC ( Zhu and Chen , paragraph 33).
62. The right of nationals of a Member State to enter the territory of another Member State and reside there for the purposes intended by the Treaty is a right conferred directly by the Treaty, or, as the case may be, by the provisions adopted for its implementation (see Case 48/75 Royer  [1976] ECR 497, paragraph 31).
63. The grant of a residence permit to a national of a Member State is to be regarded not as a measure giving rise to rights but as a measure by a Member State serving to prove the individual position of a national of another Member State with regard to provisions of Community law (see Royer , paragraph 33, and Case C-459/99 MRAX  [2002] ECR I-6591, paragraph 74).
65. The conditions for the grant of a residence permit are governed, as regards employed persons, by Directive 68/360, as regards self-employed persons, by Directive 73/148, as regards students, by Directive 93/96, as regards employees and self-employed persons who have ceased their occupational activity, by Directive 90/365, and, as regards nationals of Member States who do not enjoy a right of residence under other provisions of Community law, by Directive 90/364.
– Consideration of the second plea
66. Only if a national of a Member State is not able to prove that those conditions are fulfilled may the host Member State undertake deportation subject to the limits imposed by Community law (see Case C-215/03 Oulane  [2005] ECR I-1215, paragraph 55).