Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2011:259
Date: 2011-04-14
Language of the case: English
Subject matter: Association Agreement;External relations;International agreements
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary of the Judgment International agreements – EEC-Turkey Association Agreement – Freedom of movement for persons – Freedom of establishment – Standstill rule in Article 41(1) of the Additional Protocol – Scope – Turkish national entering into self-employment in breach of the conditions attaching to his leave to remain in a Member State (Additional Protocol to the EEC-Turkey Association Agreement, Art. 41(1)) Article 41(1) of the Additional Protocol to the EEC-Turkey Association Agreement must be interpreted as meaning that it may be relied on by a Turkish national who, having leave to remain in a Member State on condition that he does not engage in any business or profession, nevertheless enters into self‑employment in breach of that condition and later applies to the national authorities for further leave to remain on the basis of the business which he has meanwhile established. A standstill clause, such as that embodied in Article 41(1) of the Additional Protocol, does not operate in the same way as a substantive rule by rendering inapplicable the relevant substantive law which it replaces, but as a quasi‑procedural rule which specifies, ratione temporis, the provisions of a Member State’s legislation that must be referred to for the purposes of assessing the position of a Turkish national who wishes to exercise freedom of establishment in a Member State. The standstill clause must accordingly be understood as applying to a stage before the merits of the case are assessed and before an assessment is made as to whether there is any abuse of rights which may be imputed to the party concerned. Consequently, the fact that an individual has not complied with the conditions attaching to his leave to remain is irrelevant for the purposes of applying Article 41(1) of the Additional Protocol. (see paras 28, 32, 34, 46, operative part)