Request for a preliminary ruling from the Conseil du Contentieux des Étrangers (Belgium) lodged on 13 February 2017 — X v Commissaire général aux réfugiés et aux apatrides
(Case C-78/17)
Language of the case: French
Referring court
Conseil du Contentieux des Étrangers
Parties to the main proceedings
Applicant: X
Defendant: Commissaire général aux réfugiés et aux apatrides
Questions referred
A. Must Article 14(4) of Directive 2011/95/EU 1 be interpreted as creating a new ground for exclusion from refugee status provided for in Article 13 of the Directive and, consequently, from Article 1A of the Geneva Convention?
B. If the answer to question A is yes, is Article 14(4) of Directive 2011/95/EU, thus interpreted, compatible with Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 78(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which provide, inter alia, that secondary EU legislation must comply with the Geneva Convention, the exclusion clause laid down in Article 1F of the Convention being exhaustively worded and requiring strict interpretation?
C. If the answer to question A is no, must Article 14(4) of Directive 2011/95/EU be interpreted as introducing a ground for withdrawing refugee status which is not provided for in the Geneva Convention, compliance with which is required by Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 78(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union?
D. If the answer to question C is yes, is Article 14(4) of Directive 2011/95/EU compatible with Article 18 of the Charter of Fundamental Rights and Article 78(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which provide, inter alia, that secondary EU legislation must comply with the Geneva Convention, as it introduces a ground for withdrawing refugee status for which no provision is made in the Geneva Convention, and for which no basis can be found in the Convention?
E. If the answer to questions A and C is no, how can Article 14(4) of Directive 2011/95/EU be interpreted in a manner consistent with Article 18 of the Charter and Article 78(1) of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union, which provide, inter alia, that secondary EU legislation must comply with the Geneva Convention?
____________1 Directive 2011/95/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 13 December 2011 on standards for the qualification of third-country nationals or stateless persons as beneficiaries of international protection, for a uniform status for refugees or for persons eligible for subsidiary protection, and for the content of the protection granted (OJ 2011 L 337, p. 9).