Revealing the potential of the EU-Turkey customs union: Case C-65/16, Istanbul Lojistik, 19 October 2017

Abstract:

The Istanbul Lojistik decision is the first preliminary ruling on the Association Council Decision no 1/95 (ACD 1/95).

On the basis of this judgment, it is submitted that, via Article 66 of ACD 1/95, not only the prohibition on custom duties and charges having equivalent effect, but also the prohibition on discriminatory or protective internal taxation and the prohibition on quantitative restrictions and measures having equivalent effect under ACD 1/95 will have the same meaning with their equivalents under EU internal market law.

Besides, it is predicted that future questions might arise on whether an applicant may use the principle of state liability with ACD 1/95, whether the lack of agricultural products within the scope of EU-Turkey Customs Union will pose a problem, and whether cases where it is hard to decide that either goods or services is the applicable freedom of movement will cause problems.