Berlin hits Ankara with 'Tread carefully' warnings for German visitors, firms

Berlin hits Ankara with 'Tread carefully' warnings for German visitors, firms
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel interrupted his vacation to deliver hard words directed at Ankara, an intervention which he said was agreed with Angela Merkel. / Olaf Kosinsky.
By bne IntelliNews July 20, 2017

There was a marked deterioration in German-Turkish relations on July 20 as Berlin warned Germans to be more careful in traveling to Turkey and Germany's DIHK chambers of commerce said it is hard to imagine German firms investing in Turkey given the fraught relations between the two countries.

The double-hit the statements may cause to Turkey's already under-strain tourism industry and economy will not go unnoticed in Ankara, which this week extended the state of emergency which has hung over the Turkish since last year's failed coup by another three months. "Uncertainty among German companies has been felt significantly since the failed putsch," DIHK foreign trade chief Volker Treier told Reuters.

“We need our policies towards Turkey to go in a new direction. We can't continue as we have done until now,” German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel said on July 20, the news service also reported.

Relations between the two Nato allies hit a new low this week after Turkey arrested six human rights activists, including a German citizen.

The German foreign ministry has warned citizens to exercise more caution in travelling to Turkey, given the recent detentions of people there, and the Turkish governments refusal to grant consular access to detainees in some cases, in violation of international law.

People who do travel to Turkey for private or business reasons should register with German consulates and the embassy, even for shorter visits, the ministry added in revised travel guidance.

“We need to be clearer than we have been until now so those responsible in Ankara understand that such policies [surrounding detentions] are not without consequences,” Gabriel told reporters.

“Germany will talk to EU partners about Turkey's aspirations to join the EU bloc and Berlin can no longer guarantee German corporate investment in Turkey,” Gabriel said.

He added that he could not envisage talks on expanding the EU customs union to Turkey.

It remains to be seen how the revised travel advice will affect Turkey’s tourism industry which has been showing signs of recovery from a crisis triggered by tensions with Russia and the EU and several terror attacks in the country.

Turkey is a favourite holiday destination for German tourists. In 2015, 5.58mn Germans visited the country which corresponded to a 15.4% share in total foreign tourist visits. But, the number of German tourists declined by a sharp 30% to 3.89mn last year. The first few months of this year, however, have shown a sharp recovery in the number of Russians visiting Turkey given the rapprochement between Ankara and Moscow.  

Steps agreed with Merkel

The new steps announced by Gabriel were agreed with Chancellor Angela Merkel, the minister said.

Gabriel interrupted his vacation to return to Berlin to deliver his warnings to Turkey, Deutsche Welle reported.

Earlier on July 20, prior to Gabriel’s strong words directed at Ankara, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the comments of German officials regarding the arrest of the six human rights activists were “unacceptable and amounted to interference in the judiciary.”

“The expressions used in these statements have once again revealed the double standards regarding the approaches to the law of those who prevent terrorists from being brought to justice by embracing the members of different terrorist organisations targeting our country,” the ministry added.

Ankara often accuses Germany of harbouring members of the outlawed PKK, leftist DHKP-C and Gulenist network.

Turkey holds US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen and his followers responsible for last year’s failed coup attempt in which more than 200 civilians lost their lives.

It also remains to be seen whether the diplomatic spat between the two Nato allies will impact bilateral business and commercial ties.

Germany is Turkey’s largest export market. The bilateral trade volume between Turkey and Germany was $35.48bn last year.

More than 6,000 German companies are operating in Turkey, according to the Turkish foreign ministry. German investments in Turkey in the period of 2002-2015 amounted to nearly $8.5bn.

Turkish authorities named dozens of German firms as supporters of the Gulen movement in a list they sent to Germany's federal police, Deutsche Welle said on July 20, citing a report by German weekly Die Zeit.

The list of 68 companies and individuals, forwarded to German authorities several weeks ago, names the car maker Daimler and chemical company BASF as backers of terrorism, according to Deutsche Welle.

The list reportedly also includes a Turkish fast food restaurant and a late-night food store.

“Press reports that Turkey is investigating Daimler AG and BASF SE are completely false. We welcome German investors,” Turkey’s Deputy PM Mehmet Simsek wrote on Twitter on July 20.

But German Economy Minister Brigitte Zypries said on July 20 that it was extremely difficult for German companies to make investments in Turkey under the current political climate in the country.

“If respectable German companies are suddenly put on black lists and branded as supporters of terrorism then this amounts to a climate that makes new business and investments in Turkey extremely difficult," Zypries said, according to Reuters.

“The German government would defend German companies from totally unjustifiable and incomprehensible accusations. This also applies above all to the employees of German companies,” she added.

The Ankara government declared a state of emergency in the wake of last year’s coup attempt.

In the purges following the botched putsch about 50,000 people have been arrested and 120,000 have been dismissed from state positions, while 965 companies with assets of around TRY 41bn ($11.3bn) have been seized over alleged links to the coup plotters.

Turkey has lately blocked a planned visit by German politicians to Incirlik air base after Berlin granted asylum to several Turkish military officers who are allegedly affiliated with Gulen. Following Ankara’s refusal to allow German lawmakers to visit the military facility, Germany last month decided to pull its troops from Incirlik.

Moreover, Ankara this month also denied a group of German lawmakers permission to visit German soldiers stationed at Konya military base.

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