Turkish service recipients under the EU-Turkey Association Agreement: Demirkan

Publishers Abstract:
Discussed is the Sep 24, 2013, Judgment of the European Court of Justice (Grand Chamber) in Case C-221/11, Leyla Ecem Demirkan v. Bundesrepublik Deutschland. At stake in this case was whether Turkish nationals should be allowed to enter and provisionally remain in the EU territory without being subject to a visa requirement, as is the case today under Regulation 539/2001.

As the free movement of the extremely large Turkish population is probably the most salient political issue standing in the way of full Turkish membership, it comes as no surprise that the effort to overcome this hurdle through legal means was bound to attract attention. The legal question raised was whether, by virtue of the 1963 Ankara Association Agreement and its 1971 Additional Protocol, Turkish nationals in their quality of service recipients should be exempt from visa requirements when entering the EU area.