I guess the European Commission is supposed to take action against those countries which do it following this judgement, so things should change soon in this regard if they have not changed already.
As per last year's European Commission's report there are six countries that do this kind of thing:
Also, an interesting question is whether those who already paid the extortionate fees will be refundedIn this regard, the following group of Member States: BG, CY, EL, FR, NL and PT, in which fees range from 260 euro to 600 euro, can be seen as problematic.
I suggest that everyone affected write to the European Commission and ask them. Here is the link: http://ec.europa.eu/eu_law/your_rights/ ... rms_en.htm
Interesting parts from the judgement:
68. Having regard to the objective pursued by Directive 2003/109 and the system which it puts in place, it should be noted that, where the third-country nationals satisfy the conditions and comply with the procedures laid down in that directive, they have the right to obtain long-term resident status as well as the other rights which stem from the grant of that status.
69. Therefore, while it is open to the Kingdom of the Netherlands to make the issue of residence permits under Directive 2003/109 subject to the levying of charges, the level at which those charges are set must not have either the object or the effect of creating an obstacle to the obtaining of the long-term resident status conferred by that directive, otherwise both the objective and the spirit of that directive would be undermined.
77. However, it should be noted that, in the present case, the amounts of the charges claimed by the Kingdom of the Netherlands vary within a range in which the lowest amount is about seven times higher than the amount to be paid to obtain a national identity card. Even if Dutch citizens and third-country nationals and the members of their families to whom Directive 2003/109 relates are not in identical situations, such a variation illustrates the disproportionate nature of the charges claimed pursuant to the national legislation in issue in the present case.
Operative part
On those grounds, the Court (Second Chamber) hereby:
1. Declares that, by applying (i) to third-country nationals seeking long-term resident status in the Netherlands, (ii) to those who, having acquired that status in a Member State other than the Kingdom of the Netherlands, are seeking to exercise the right to reside in that Member State, and (iii) to members of their families seeking authorisation to accompany or join them, excessive and disproportionate administrative charges which are liable to create an obstacle to the exercise of the rights conferred by Directive 2003/109/EC of 25 November 2003 concerning the status of third-country nationals who are long-term residents, the Kingdom of the Netherlands has failed to fulfil its obligations under that directive;
2. Orders the Kingdom of the Netherlands to pay the costs;
3. Orders the Hellenic Republic to bear its own costs.
Hurrah!