Asylum seekers - Court: No obligation to issue visas

OVER-REACH by the European Court of Justice was one of the reasons Britain chose to leave the EU, prompting Prime Minister Theresa May to declare: “We are not leaving only to return to the jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice.”

Yesterday, it appeared the court may have been spooked by Brexit, when it conceded that EU member states do not have to issue entry visas to asylum seekers, but remain free to do so on the basis of national law. The ruling highlights the need for EU legislation on humanitarian visas. It is now up to the governments of member states and our elected MEPs to decide the extent to which we are prepared to provide humanitarian assistance and end the chaos of migrant camps and the horror of desperate people resorting to perilous methods to escape conflict zones.

We do not have to follow Donald Trump’s ban on migrants from Muslim countries. Neither should we emulate the parliament of Israel, which voted on Monday to bar foreign nationals, who have publicly called for a boycott of the Jewish state, from entering Israel.