Mimoun Khachab v Subdelegación del Gobierno en Álava.
Date: 2016-04-21
25


The Court has previously held that, since authorisation of family reunification is the general rule, the faculty provided for in Article 7(1)(c) of Directive 2003/86 must be interpreted strictly. The margin for manoeuvre which the Member States are recognised as having must therefore not be used by them in a manner which would undermine the objective of that directive and the effectiveness thereof (judgment in O and Others, C‑356/11 and C‑357/11, EU:C:2012:776, paragraph 74 and the case-law cited).
26


It is apparent, in that regard, from recital 4 in the preamble to Directive 2003/86, that that directive has the general objective of facilitating the integration of third country nationals in Member States by making family life possible through reunification (see judgment in Parliament v Council, C‑540/03, EU:C:2006:429, paragraph 69).
27


In addition, the Court has held that Article 7(1)(c) of Directive 2003/86 cannot be applied in such a manner that its application would disregard the fundamental rights set out in, inter alia, Article 7 of the Charter (see judgment in O and Others, C‑356/11 and C‑357/11, EU:C:2012:776, paragraph 77).
28


Although Article 7 of the Charter cannot be interpreted as depriving the Member States of the margin of appreciation available to them when examining applications for family reunification, the provisions of Directive 2003/86 must nonetheless, in the course of such an examination, be interpreted and applied in the light of — inter alia — Article 7 of the Charter, as is moreover apparent from recital 2 in the preamble to that directive, which requires the Member States to examine applications for reunification with a view to promoting family life (see, to that effect, judgment in O and Others, C‑356/11 and C‑357/11, EU:C:2012:776, paragraphs 79 and 80).
30


Although that provision makes no explicit mention of such a possibility, it nonetheless follows from the actual wording thereof, in particular the use of the words ‘stable’ and ‘regular’, that those financial resources must have a certain degree of permanence and continuity. In that regard, according to the second sentence of Article 7(1)(c) of Directive 2003/86, the Member States are to assess those resources by reference to, inter alia, their ‘regularity’, which entails a periodic analysis of the pattern of those resources.
31


Thus, it can be seen from Article 7(1)(c) of Directive 2003/86 that the wording of that provision cannot be interpreted as precluding the competent authority of the Member State concerned by an application for family reunification from examining whether the condition relating to the sponsor’s resources is met by taking into account an assessment as regards whether those resources will be retained beyond the date of submission of that application.
39


Lastly, it should be noted that that interpretation is confirmed by the objective of Article 7(1) of Directive 2003/86. Evidence that the condition relating to resources set out in subparagraph (c) of that provision has been met enables the competent authority to ensure that, once the family reunification has taken place, neither the sponsor nor the members of his family are likely to become a burden on the social assistance system of the Member State concerned during their period of residence (see, to that effect, judgment in Chakroun, C‑578/08, EU:C:2010:117, paragraph 46).
42


It should be noted, in that regard, that, in accordance with the principle of proportionality, which is one of the general principles of EU law, the measures implemented by the national legislation transposing Article 7(1)(c) of Directive 2003/86 must be suitable for achieving the objectives of that legislation and must not go beyond what is necessary to attain them (see, regarding Article 7(2) of Directive 2003/86, judgment in K and A, C‑153/14, EU:C:2015:453, paragraph 51).
43


Lastly, it should be borne in mind that it follows from the case-law of the Court that Article 17 of Directive 2003/86 requires that applications for reunification be examined on a case-by-case basis (judgments in Chakroun, C‑578/08, EU:C:2010:117, paragraph 48, and K and A, C‑153/14, EU:C:2015:453, paragraph 60), and that the competent national authorities, when implementing Directive 2003/86 and examining applications for family reunification, must make a balanced and reasonable assessment of all the interests in play (see, to that effect, judgment in O and Others, C‑356/11 and C‑357/11, EU:C:2012:776, paragraph 81).