Abstract:

Pre-accession international agreements of the Member States of the European Union ("EU") have a special status within the EU law. Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) 351 regulates the relations between the obligations of the Member States arising from international law and EU law. Under this provision, obligations arising from international agreements concluded before their accession to the EU shall not be affected by the provisions of the Treaties; however, the incompatibilities between these agreements and the EU law shall be eliminated. This paper aims to analyze the impacts of TFEU art. 351 on Member States, along with its reflections on candidate countries and accordingly on Turkey. Conclusions of this paper are the priority given to international agreements within the scope of Article 2 TFEU. 351 is subject to detailed conditions and obligations, it is getting difficult for Member States accessing the EU after 2004 to rely on this priority and in line with this trend Turkey, as a candidate country, through reviewing its international agreements during the accession negotiations, could minimize the possible legal conflicts that may arise in the future

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