Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2011:510
Date: 2011-07-21
Language of the case: Dutch
Subject matter: Association Agreement;External relations;Free movement of workers;International agreements
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Netherlands

Summary of the Judgment International agreements – EEC-Turkey Association Agreement – Freedom of movement for persons – Workers – Access of Turkish nationals duly registered as belonging to the labour market of a Member State to employment in that Member State and the corresponding right of residence (Decision No 1/80 of the EEC-Turkey Association Council, Art. 6(1)) The first indent of Article 6(1) of Decision No 1/80 of the EEC-Turkey Association Council must be interpreted as precluding the competent national authorities from withdrawing the residence permit of a Turkish worker with retroactive effect from the date when that ground ceased to exist, on satisfaction of which national law had made the grant of his residence permit conditional, if there is no question of fraudulent conduct on the part of that worker and that withdrawal occurs after the expiry of the one-year period of legal employment provided for in the first indent of Article 6(1) of Decision No 1/80. First, that provision cannot be construed as permitting a Member State to modify unilaterally the scope of the system of gradual integration of Turkish workers in the host Member State’s labour force. Secondly, not to accept that such a worker has been legally employed in the host Member State for more than one year would be contrary to the general principle of respect for acquired rights, according to which, in the case where a Turkish national may legitimately rely on rights pursuant to a provision of Decision No 1/80, those rights are no longer dependent on the continuing existence of the circumstances which gave rise to them, as no condition of that nature is laid down by that decision. (see paras 42, 50, 53, operative part)