Germany’s Greens Party members convened its congress in Biefeld to elect its co-chairs. Greens members approved a proposal that calls for sanctions on Turkey for its ongoing operation in northern Syria.
The proposal seek variety of sanctions. Financial sanctions on Turkish president Erdogan, cabinet members and army officials were at the top of the list. It also called to halt all arms export to Turkey. The proposal also asked to suspend the infamous refugee deal with Turkey.
On March 18th, Turkey and the EU has reached a migration deal aiming at discouraging refugees to enter Turkey. Under the deal, Turkey agreed to take back refugees from Greece. In return, the EU pledged to provide €6 billion to Turkey through projects to be spent on refugees. However, Turkish president Erdogan has recently said the EU has not kept its end of the deal and has so far only sent half of the amount. Turkish government says it has spent over $30 billion for the refugees since the civil war broke out in Syria. After the deal, migrant influx into the EU has stopped. Erdogan has threatened Europe to open the borders again if the EU does not meet its responsibilities.
The Green Party resolution also called to suspend Hermes credit guarantees with Turkey. In September of 2017, the German government capped the amount of the Hermes export guarantees it provides for trade with Turkey at 1.5 billion euros. However, Germany has lifted the restriction on export and investment guarantees for German companies doing business with Turkey, while the country has also softened its travel warning to the country. In September last year, the German. The Hermes guarantees provide the German government protection for German companies when foreign debtors fail to pay.
Diaspora Daily 