CJEU, 24 November 2020, RNNS and KA, Joined Cases C-225/19 and C-226/19, EU:C:2020:951

No objection without substantiation? The visa applicant’s right to an effective remedy in the case of consultation procedures

Abstract

With the ruling RNNS and KA (C-225/19 and C-226/19), the CJEU deals with the prior consultation procedure in the context of visa application whereby a Member State can object to the issuing of a Schengen visa by another Member States. On the one hand, the Court strengthens the procedural safeguards surrounding the decision of refusal, by clarifying (and expanding) the scope of the duty to state reasons for the decision of refusal. On the other hand, it complexifies the scope of the right to an effective remedy (and of appeal procedures) by judging that the domestic Court that adopted the final decision on the visa cannot review the merits of the objection of the other Member State.