Turkey’s growing repression leads to review of German ECA guarantees
(The Telegraph, Berlin, 21 July 2017) Germany announced a series of hardline measures against Turkey on Thursday amid rapidly deteriorating relations between the two Nato partners. Sigmar Gabriel, the German foreign minister, accused the Turkish government of the “arbitrary” arrest of German citizens on its soil and demanded their immediate release. In a series of measures that could threaten the fragile Turkish economy, he issued tough new travel advice for Germans on visiting the country, and ordered a review of export credit guarantees for German companies investing in Turkey. He also said Germany would seek a review of €630m (£560m) of aid Turkey currently receives each year from the EU, and of Turkey’s partial membership of the customs union.