A seminar on Turkish citizens’ rights within the framework of EU law was organized by IKV in Istanbul on the 25^th May 2015. Lawyer in Soysal Case Prof. Rolf Gutmann and Member of the Yeditepe University Faculty Law Dr. Murat Uğur Aksoy informed the public about the latest developments regarding Turkish citizens’ rights.

Prof. Gutmann, who is the titular of an honorary PhD from the Yeditepe University and is pursuing activities regarding foreigners law in Germany, gave detailed information on the latest developments regarding Turkish citizens’ rights within the framework of EU law. He also referred to some cases that have been discussed at the European Court of Justice (ECJ) with a special emphasis on the Naime Doğan case.

Furthermore, Prof. Gutmann also updated the participants about family reunification and residence permit in Germany. Prof. Gutmann and Dr. Aksoy underlined that the obligation put upon family relatives of Turkish citizens working in Germany to take German language courses at A1 level is contrary to the standstill clause which is the cornerstone of Turkey-EU common law.  In the case opened by Naime Doğan against the requirement of having a basic knowledge of the German language, it has been ruled that this requirement y is contrary to the EU law which is bound by the Soysal case.

On the other hand, taking the legal dimension apart, Dr. Aksoy stressed the importance of the language and integration education for Turkish citizens who wish to settle in Germany from the perspective of cultural and social integration. In light of the latest decisions taken by the Federal Administrative Court of Germany, differences between residence permit and right of establishment were assessed and it was stressed that settlement is the previous step before gaining full citizenship.

During the seminar, the latest developments before and after the Soysal case were assessed from a historical perspective in order to better understand whether there has been a particular case where the rebus sic stantibus principle could be implemented or not. Following a question directed by IKV Secretary General Assoc. Prof. Çiğdem Nas, it has been assessed that it is not possible to revoke the agreements based on the association law in the context of the current conjuncture.