Germany can now more easily deport refugees to other EU countries. This is clear from a judgment of the European Court of Justice (Ref .: C-163/17, C-297/17 and others). A ban on repatriation would only exist if in the other country an inhuman and "extreme material need" threatened.
According to EU law, a refugee is in principle responsible for the country through which he first arrived in the European Union. Human rights activists consider the conditions of residence and living conditions for refugees in several EU states to be critical. Many refugees in Germany therefore argue that a return to the country of entry is unacceptable and therefore Germany is responsible for the asylum procedure.
According to the Luxembourg judgments, German jurisdiction is not excluded. The hurdles are high. Accordingly, repatriation to the country of immigration is only inadmissible if it places refugees "in a situation of extreme material need that violates the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment".
"Principle of mutual trust"
The verdict was specifically about a refugee from Gambia. He came across the Mediterranean to Italy and initially filed there for asylum. The authorities therefore rejected his asylum application, which was later filed in Germany, as inadmissible. The Administrative Court of Baden-Wuerttemberg asked the ECJ whether repatriation is admissible, even if the man in Italy threatens homelessness and "a life on the margins of society".
Other cases included stateless Palestinians from Syria who came to Germany via Bulgaria, and a Chechen who entered via Poland. The ECJ has now emphasized the "principle of mutual trust" in force in the EU. Therefore, it should be assumed in principle that all EU countries also respect human rights for refugees.
Nevertheless, courts would have to investigate "dysfunctions" in individual EU states. "Weaknesses only violate the prohibition of inhuman or degrading treatment if they reach a particularly high threshold of significance," explained the Luxembourg judges. The desire for German social standards and even "great poverty" would not prevent a deportation.
The threshold is exceeded only when there is an inhuman, "extreme material need" that does not allow refugees to "satisfy their most basic needs, such as feeding, washing and finding shelter".
For the return to the country of entry there is usually a period of six months. The ECJ further ruled that it could be extended to 18 months if a refugee leaves home to avoid deportation.