Unrecognised 'States' and EU Law: Anastasiou I

Abstract

Anastasiou I is the first in a trilogy of cases in the so-called ‘Anastasiou saga’, in which the Court was called for the first time to rule on issues relating to the Cyprus problem. Although, at first glance, the subject matter of the case might appear to have been of a purely technical nature, concerning the trade relations between the EU and (at the time) a third country, in reality, it concerned a convoluted and sensitive political matter that involved the non-recognition of a self-proclaimed entity by the EU and its Member States. It does not come as a surprise, therefore, that – as will be argued in this chapter – the Court in this case appears overly cautious to ensure that, whilst it provides an answer regarding the technical matter that was at issue on the facts of the case, it does so without becoming involved in the potential political dimension of this trade dispute. After all, as noted, this approach ‘is fully consistent with the case-law in other areas of trade policy with significant foreign policy overtones, namely economic sanctions against third countries and exports of dual-use goods’....