After years of restraint, the federal government has approved arms exports worth over 100 million euros to Turkey this year—a significant increase, marking the first time since 2011 that a three-digit million volume has been reached.

The federal government issued 69 export licenses for Turkey worth a total of 103 million euros by October 13. Among them were war weapons valued at 840,000 euros. These figures are based on a response from the Ministry of Economy to an inquiry by Bundestag member Sevim Dagdelen.

A large part of the approvals—101.1 million euros—are for exports related to joint projects with other countries. Further exports are not yet recorded in the official statistics. On September 30, Economics Minister Robert Habeck informed the Bundestag's Economic Committee about the Federal Security Council's approval for the export of 28 Seahake torpedoes, including accessories and spare parts valued at 156 million euros, by Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems and Atlas Elektronik. Additionally, the defense manufacturer MBDA received the green light to deliver 101 guided missiles, the value of which was not disclosed.

The topic of arms exports is also likely to play a role in today's meeting between Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul.

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Following the failed military coup in Turkey in 2016 and the deployment of Turkish troops into Syria, Germany significantly reduced arms exports to the country. In recent years, the approvals were only in the low double-digit or single-digit million range—11.1 million euros in 2021 and 4.5 million euros in 2022.

The current expansion of export licenses meets sharp criticism. Sevim Dagdelen, a member of the Bundestag for The Left party, termed the increase a "moral and political declaration of bankruptcy." She accused the traffic light coalition government of having "abandoned all restraint on arms exports to war and conflict zones.

The Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs has not yet published total figures for arms exports for the year 2023.