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Berlin gave a first response to Nikos Dendias’ letter to Haikos Maas on Tuesday. The foreign minister asked the German government not to issue export permits for military equipment such as submarines, frigates, aircraft and armor upgrades.
In a first reaction, the German Foreign Ministry claimed that the German government was following “a restrictive and responsible arms export policy”. As he claims, this is the reason why export licenses are obtained “after careful consideration and in light of foreign and security policy parameters.”
It also notes that the number of export licenses to Turkey is “at a very low level”. In recent years, the German government has not issued new export licenses for “critical equipment” that Turkey could use “in the context of regional military operations,” says the German Foreign Ministry.
“The German government is making efforts, also as the EU Presidency, to reduce tension and dialogue in the eastern Mediterranean.” As it also assures, “in close cooperation with partners in the EU”, the government is constantly reviewing decisions on German exports taking into account the regional security situation. It should be noted that Deputy Economy Minister Ulrich Nussbaum made an identical statement on September 9 when asked by the Greens about German arms exports to Turkey.
Another approval, another export
Responding a day earlier, on September 8, to a question from the Left party, the same deputy minister gave information about the licenses issued this year by the Ministry of Economy, responsible for arms exports to Turkey. From January 1 to August 31, exports were approved for 27,608,964 million euros “mainly in the maritime sector.” With this wording, the Ministry of Economy means that the exports referred almost exclusively to products related to the six submarines of the “Class 214” of the German group ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems. The annual report of the Ministry of Economy on arms exports in 2019 shows that the value of arms exports to Turkey last year was even lower. According to the data provided, last year 187 applications for arms exports to Turkey were approved for a total value of 31,618,242 euros. During the same period, 12 Turkish applications worth € 14,575,810 were rejected.
The picture is different in terms of the value of today’s arms exports. In terms of actual exports, Turkey was in 2018 and 2019 the most important destination for German weapons abroad. In those two years, Turkey imported arms worth 584.7 million euros from Germany. And in this case, the products mainly referred to submarines of the “Class 214”.
The German dilemma
The export of submarine components, which are assembled in Turkey, was already approved in 2009 and secured with a Hermes guarantee from the German state of 2.4 billion euros. Hence Berlin’s difficulty in stopping relevant exports. In addition, companies from other countries are participating in the submarine program. It should also be noted that for Berlin, Ankara remains an important NATO security partner in the eastern Mediterranean.
Source: DW – Panagiotis Kouparanis, Berlin
