Brussels, 10/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - Member states cannot introduce new restrictive measures on the freedom of establishment for Turkish nationals, as a result of a clause agreed as part of the association agreement with Turkey, unless there are overriding reasons of general interest to justify these restrictions. The requirement of basic knowledge of the language of the member state does not constitute such a reason, according to the European Court of Justice in its ruling (C-138/13) on Thursday 10 July.
Since 2007, Germany has demanded an elementary knowledge of German for the spouses of nationals from third countries residing in Germany who wish to obtain a visa to rejoin their spouse. The purpose of this requirement was to tackle the issue of forced marriages and promote integration by toughening up the law on family reunification.
In its ruling, the Court points out that the association agreement between the EU and Turkey signed in 1970 contains a “standstill” clause, which prohibits the introduction of new restrictions on the freedom of establishment and on family reunification, unless overriding reasons in the public interest deem otherwise. Although the goal pursued by Germany appears legitimate to the Court, the latter believes that the means used to achieve it, namely a linguistic requirement, is disproportionate because it does not take into account the specific circumstances of each case and could in some cases make family reunification impossible and adversely affect freedom of establishment. (JK)