Ministers react to ruling on Syrian family’s humanitarian visa

Ministers have reacted to a tribunal’s judgement that a Syrian family seeking asylum in Belgium must be granted a humanitarian visa.

Last week, the tribunal for disputes in policy for foreigners ordered state secretary for migration and asylum Theo Francken to issue a visa to a family from Aleppo. The visa would allow them to come to Belgium to be reunited with friends here, who are pledging financial support. The judgement was supported by the Brussels court of appeal.

As members of Francken’s party, N-VA, described the appeal court judges as “out of touch”, prime minister Charles Michel (MR) pointed out the matter was still part of a court procedure, with a question before the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg.

Justice minister Koen Geens (CD&V) said a penalty of €4,000 for every day the visa was delayed was not yet an issue. “I’m always coming up against rulings about financial penalties, but I give them no thought,” he said. “We’ve never been accustomed to paying out on penalties in the past.”

Michel and Geens were joined by Open VLD president Gwendolyn Rutten in condemning the words of Francken and N-VA party president, Bart De Wever, who had complained of “government by judges”.

She asked why members of the public should respect the decisions of judges if politicians did not. “Imagine what would happen if everyone said, ‘we’re going to ignore the judgements of the courts’,” she said.

The Aleppo family’s case is now before the Council of State, as well as the European Court. The question of whether a family from a foreign country may apply for a humanitarian visa to allow it to seek asylum in an EU member state is of crucial importance, all parties agree, not only to Belgium but to all EU countries.

Photo: Prime minister Charles Michel (left) and migration secretary Theo Francken
©Benoit Doppagne/BELGA