«Der Spiegel»: German politicians against supplying submarines to Turkey

The withdrawal of the approval of the sale of the six submarine of ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in Turkey, the ending the EU accession negotiations with Turkey in their current form and the The suspension of the payment of Customs Union funds is proposed by Liberal Foreign Affairs (FDP) MP Bijan Njir-Sarai, who makes reference to «Turkish provocations against Greece and Cyprus in the Mediterranean».

According to the magazine «The Mirror», the Member of Parliament for FDP recommends to his party's Parliamentary Group a motion for a resolution calling on the government to cancellation of the authorisation for the sale of weapons systems granted in 2009. Mr. Djir-Saray stresses in his proposal that «all arms exports to Turkey should be stopped and no more should be agreed» and that this should apply as long as Turkey acts «in violation of international law» and is not seen to be returning «to treating the European Union as a partner and with respect».

As the magazine points out, a similar proposal was submitted to the Federal Parliament at the end of October by the Greens, on which, however, no vote has yet been taken. The FDP's motion for a resolution, provided that it is adopted by the whole of the party's Central Committee, is expected to come before the Bundestag in the near future. The resolution «has not yet taken its final form», Mr. Njir-Saray clarifies to the magazine, which reveals that the MP is still recommending to end the accession negotiations of EU with the Anchor in the form in which they have been conducted so far, to suspend the funds of the Customs Union and to put relations with Turkey on a new basis for cooperation in the security and economic fields.

Spiegel also reports that the German government is still insisting on the delivery of the Type 214 submarines, on the grounds that Germany must honour the agreed contracts. So far, however, the publication clarifies, the federal government has not exported to Turkey any equipment that could be used in the Syrian war, but supplies of equipment for the «maritime sector» are still being approved.