Özet:

The Association Agreement signed in Ankara in 1963 is the basis of relations between Turkey and the European Union. The Association Council was established by the Ankara Agreement. Decisions No 2/76 and Decision No 1/80 of the Association Council regulate the entry, residence and conditions of access to employment of Turkish citizens in the European Union. Article 7 of the Decision No 2/76 and Article 13 of Decision No 1/80 contain the provisions as to the protection of current situation and both Articles prohibit the EU Member States to impose new restrictions (standstill clause). In the decision of the ECJ dated 3.11.2019, the ECJ argued that whether the issuance of the residence permit to Turkish citizens conditional upon the processing of their specific biometric data is contrary standstill clause. The administrative court of first instance found that the provision of the Netherlands’ law on foreigners requiring the collection, recording and retention of the biometric data of Turkish citizens in a central filing system was a ‘new restriction’ within the meaning of Article 7 of the Decision No 2/76 and Article 13 of the Decision No 1/80. An appeal was brought against this judgment. The Netherlands Council of State requested preliminary ruling from the ECJ. The ECJ ruled that the provision of the Netherlands Law on Foreigners which makes the issuance of a temporary residence permit to Turkish citizens, conditional upon the collection, recording and retention of their biometric data in a central filing system does constitute a ‘new restriction’ within the meaning of standstill clause. Such a restriction is, however, justified by the public interest of preventing and combating identity and document fraud.

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