CJEU, 22 June 2023, Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid (Thai mother of a Dutch minor child), C-459/20, EU:C:2023:499

No assessment of the best interests of the child when the EU citizen, who is a minor child, exercises the right to enter and reside in the EU Member State of their nationality

Abstract

In Staatssecretaris van Justitie en Veiligheid (Thai mother of a Dutch minor child), the Court of Justice of the European Union interprets Article 20 TFEU in a case where the mother of an EU citizen, who is a minor child born and living in a third country, applies for a derived right of residence in the Member State of which the child is a national. This case note focuses on the Court’s fluctuating approach to the best interests of the child and inconsistent use of references to Article 24 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights. This analysis compares the Advocate General’s opinion and the Court’s decision and points out the differences in their reasoning about the best interests of the child.