EU Cracks Down on Expulsion of Longtime Resident

(CN) - An Italian national who killed his flatmate in the United Kingdom and a Greek national who held up an arcade in Germany featured Tuesday in a ruling from the EU’s highest court that blocks the expulsion of longtime residents hailing from other member states.

The Luxembourg-based Grand Chamber of the European Court of Justice issued the ruling this morning in response to joined cases involving Italian national Franco Vomero and a Greek national identified only as B.

In 2001, a few years after splitting with his wife of 13 years, Vomero got into a fatal tussle with his flatmate, ultimately striking the victim in the head 20 times with a hammer and then strangling him with an iron cord.

After Vomero served prison time for manslaughter, the UK tried to deport the man back to Italy, but Vomero argued that he had acquire a right of permanent residence.

Before his marriage fell apart, Vomero had raised five children with his wife, a British national, in the UK.

Likewise the Greek national known as B claimed that he was entitled to enhanced protection in Germany since he had been living there with his mother continuously since 1993.

B used a gun loaded with rubber bullets to hold up the German arcade on April 10, 2013.

Tuesday’s ruling by the Court of Justice agrees with B that a right of permanent residence in a host member state is conferred to any EU citizen who has resided legally for a continuous period of five years in the country.

“The host member state may not take an expulsion decision against Union citizens or their family members, irrespective of nationality, who have the right of permanent residence on its territory, except on serious grounds of public policy or public security,” the decision states.

The ruling goes on to say that “an expulsion decision may not be taken” against an EU citizen who has resided in the host member state for the previous 10 years “except on imperative grounds of public security.”

Follow @bleonardcns

Subscribe to Closing Arguments

Sign up for new weekly newsletter Closing Arguments to get the latest about ongoing trials, major litigation and hot cases and rulings in courthouses around the U.S. and the world.

Email *

Submit