The Court of Justice has recently delivered its ruling in Case C-563/22 involving the Deputy Chair of the State Agency for Refugees (concerning refugee status and stateless individuals of Palestinian origin) in relation to the Procedures Directive and the Qualifications Directive. The latter directive generally excludes individuals registered with the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) from obtaining refugee status in the European Union. UNRWA is a UN agency established in 1949 to provide support and assistance to Palestinian refugees across its operational areas, which include Gaza, the West Bank, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria.

Nonetheless, stateless Palestinians registered with UNRWA should be granted refugee status if UNRWA’s protection or assistance ceases. This cessation is defined by UNRWA’s inability to ensure dignified living conditions or minimum security within its operational regions.

In July 2018, a stateless Palestinian woman and her young daughter fled Gaza and illegally entered Bulgaria, passing through Egypt, Turkey, and Greece. Their first request for international protection in Bulgaria was denied because they did not demonstrate that they left Gaza due to persecution fears. They then filed a second application, citing their registration with UNRWA and claiming refugee status due to the cessation of UNRWA’s protection. This application was also rejected by Bulgarian authorities, who stated that the applicants had voluntarily left UNRWA’s operational area, thereby forfeiting its assistance.

The Bulgarian court sought clarification from the Court of Justice on interpreting the Procedures Directive regarding the assessment of a subsequent application and the Qualifications Directive, which generally excludes individuals registered with UNRWA from EU refugee status. However, if UNRWA’s protection ceases, these individuals are automatically entitled to refugee status. The Court needed to specify the circumstances under which UNRWA’s assistance is considered to have ceased.

The Court ruled that the merits of a subsequent application must encompass all factual elements, including previously evaluated facts. If the Bulgarian court finds that, given the current conditions in Gaza, UNRWA’s protection has ceased for the applicants, they should be granted refugee status unless other grounds for exclusion under the Qualifications Directive apply. Specifically, UNRWA’s assistance is deemed to have ceased when it can no longer provide dignified living conditions or minimum security for stateless Palestinians in its operational areas.

The Court noted the significant deterioration in living conditions in Gaza and UNRWA’s capacity to fulfill its mission, particularly in light of events on October 7, 2023, as a potential basis for granting refugee status to the applicants.