European court of justice rules visas not needed from Turks entering EU states to provide services

The European Court of Justice yesterday ruled that visas should not be required from Turkish nationals planning to enter European Union member states to provide services. Two Turkish nationals in 2007 challenged Germany's visa requirement of Turkish truck drivers, arguing that this violated the Ankara Agreement between Turkey and the European Community. "Article 41(1) of the Additional Protocol," the court said in its ruling, "is to be interpreted as meaning that it precludes the introduction, as from the entry into force of that protocol, of a requirement that Turkish nationals such as the appellants in the main proceedings must have a visa to enter the territory of a Member State in order to provide services there on behalf of an undertaking established in Turkey, since, on that date, such a visa was not required."