Tag Archives: Germany
22 January 2013
NATO Patriot missiles began arriving at the Turkish border with Syria on 21 January 2013. The missiles are intended to protect Turkey from a potential Syrian attack. Turkey had formally requested protection from NATO last November. Six missile batteries are provided by Germany, the Netherlands and the US, which are amongst the few NATO members in possession of these advanced air protection systems.
Source: Reuters | NATO Patriot missiles arrive in Turkey to counter Syria risks
19 October 2012
After two years of difficult proceedings, a German Court in Hamburg held 10 Somali nationals responsible for extortionate kidnapping and attacking sea transportation under German criminal law. The Somalis had hijacked the German freighter Taipan in 2010, which was freed by Dutch special forces. The process raises questions as to the appropriate legal framework to address issues of modern piracy.
Source: Sky News | Germany convicts seven Somali pirates
Source: Der Spiegel | Urteil im Hamburger Piratenprozess
21 August 2012
In a column published by Reuters, Anatole Kaletsky argues that Italian and French leaders would only find political and fiscal integration acceptable, if collective European control over domestic fiscal policies – which is insisted upon by Germany – would be ‘balanced by collective responsibility for national debt burdens.’
Kaletsky argues that this ‘more complex and balanced approach to fiscal integration’ could make the continued existence of the euro possible, and would save Europe from ‘a decade of depression.’
Source: Reuters | Column: Reject the politics of oversimplification
16 April 2012
A German owned ship suspected of carrying arms for the Syrian military was diverted about 80 km southwest of the Syrian port of Tartus. The ship was chartered by a Ukranian company and purportedly loaded the arms in Dijbouti. Syria is currently under an arms embargo imposed by the European Union.
Source: Euronews | Germany investigates report ship carrying arms to Syria
9 December 2011
On 11 November 2011 a German administrative court in Cologne decided that Germany violated the prohibition of torture, inhuman and degrading treatment (Articles 3 ECHR and 7 ICCPR) by transferring Somali pirates captured by the German fregate “Rheinland-Pfalz” in the framework of the EU anti-piracy mission ATALANTA to Kenya. The German court rejected two other claims by plaintiffs that the capture and detention on the “Rheinland-Pfalz” were in violation of international and German constitutional law.
Decision (in German): link