Rahmanian Koushkaki v Bundesrepublik Deutschland.
Date: 2013-12-19
34. In this connection, it is apparent from the Court’s settled case‑law that, in interpreting a provision of European Union law, it is necessary to consider not only its wording but also the context in which it occurs and the objectives pursued by the rules of which it is part (Case C‑466/07 Klarenberg  [2009] ECR I‑803, paragraph 37, and Case C‑11/12 Maatschap L.A. en D.A.B. Langestraat en P. Langestraat-Troost  [2012] ECR, paragraph 27).
38. The fact that Article 32 of that code establishes a list of specific grounds on the basis of which a decision to refuse a visa is to be taken, while providing, in Article 32(2), that the reasons on which that decision is based must be notified to the applicant by means of the standard form set out in Annex VI to the Visa Code, is a factor supporting the interpretation that the list of grounds of refusal in Article 32(1) is exhaustive.
42. In addition, in so far as Article 34(6) of the Visa Code states that decisions on annulment or revocation of a visa must also be notified to the applicant by means of the standard form set out in Annex VI to that code, it is apparent that the competent authority must indicate to the applicant whose visa is annulled or revoked which condition for the issue of a visa is not or is no longer satisfied by referring to one of the reasons for refusal provided for in Article 32(1) and Article 35(6) of that code, reproduced in Annex VI thereto.
43. Furthermore, the fact that, pursuant to Article 34 of the Visa Code, the grounds for refusal of a visa are the same as those which justify its annulment or revocation, implies that if it were accepted that a Member State might provide that its competent authorities must refuse a visa on a ground not set out in that code it would therefore also have to be accepted that that State might provide that those authorities are required to annul or revoke visas on an equivalent ground, so as to ensure the coherence of a system in which the fact that a condition for the issue of a visa is not met precludes that visa from being valid.
45. Such a system presupposes that the conditions for the issue of uniform visas are harmonised, which rules out there being differences between the Member States as regards the determination of the grounds for refusal of such visas.
47. An analysis of the context in which Article 32(1) of the Visa Code appears therefore indicates that the competent authorities of the Member States cannot refuse to issue a uniform visa by relying on a ground not provided for in that code.
50. The interpretation that the Visa Code does no more than govern the procedures for the issue of visas and oblige the Member States to refuse to issue visas in certain specific situations, without thereby harmonising the conditions for the issue of visas, is therefore incompatible with the very objective of that code.
51. Moreover, the Court has already held that the Visa Code governs the conditions for issuing, annulling and revoking uniform visas (see, to that effect, Case C‑83/12 PPU Vo  [2012] ECR, paragraph 42).
52. In addition, the facilitation of legitimate travel, which is referred to in recital 3 in the preamble to the Visa Code, would be jeopardised if a Member State could decide, according to its discretion, to refuse a visa to an applicant who meets all the conditions for issue set by the Visa Code by adding a ground for refusal to those listed in Articles 32(1) and 35(6) of that code, even though the European Union legislature did not consider that such a ground was sufficient to prevent third country nationals obtaining a uniform visa.
56. However, it is important to point out that the assessment of the individual position of a visa applicant, with a view to determining whether there is a ground for refusal of his application, entails complex evaluations based, inter alia, on the personality of that applicant, his integration in the country where he resides, the political, social and economic situation of that country and the potential threat posed by the entry of that applicant to public policy, internal security, public health or the international relations of any of the Member States.
57. Such complex evaluations involve predicting the fores eeable conduct of that applicant and must be based on, inter alia, an extensive knowledge of his country of residence and on the analysis of various documents, the authenticity and the veracity of whose content must be checked, and of statements by the applicant, the reliability of which must be assessed, as is provided by Article 21(7) of the Visa Code.
58. In that respect, the diversity of the supporting documents on which the competent authorities may rely, a non-exhaustive list of which is set out in Annex II to that code, and the variety of methods available to those authorities, including interviewing the applicant as provided for in Article 21(8) of that code, confirm the complex nature of the examination of visa applications.
59. Lastly, it must be noted that the examination carried out by the competent authorities of a Member State to whom a visa application has been submitted must be all the more scrupulous since any issue of a uniform visa allows the applicant to enter the territory of the Member States within the limits fixed by the Schengen Borders Code.
60. It follows from the foregoing that the competent authorities listed in Article 4(1) to (4) of the Visa Code have, when examining visa applications, a wide discretion which relates to the conditions for the application of Articles 32(1) and 35(6) of that code and also to the assessment of the relevant facts in order to determine whether the grounds set out in those provisions preclude the issue of the visa applied for.
75. It must be observed in that regard that, according to the Court’s settled case‑law, it is for the national court, as far as possible, to interpret domestic law in conformity with the requirements of European Union law (see, to that effect, Case C‑60/02 X [2004] ECR I‑651, paragraph 59, and Case C‑208/05 ITC  [2007] ECR I‑181, paragraph 68).
76. The principle that national law must be interpreted in conformity with European Union law – which is inherent in the Treaty system in that it enables the national court to ensure, for matters within its jurisdiction, the full effectiveness of European Union law when it determines the dispute before it – requires the national court to consider national law as a whole in order to assess to what extent it may be applied so as not to produce a result contrary to that sought by European Union law (Case C‑239/09 Seydaland Vereinigte Agrarbetriebe  [2010] ECR I‑13083, paragraph 50 and the case‑law cited).