Germany announces about the ‘right to prevent members of foreign governments from entering’
Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff warned Wednesday that the German government reserves the right to impose entry bans on foreign officials, though he said the measure would be a "last resort.", ABC news reports.
Peter Altmaier's comments followed days of escalating tensions between Turkey and two European Union nations, Germany and the Netherlands, over Turkish politicians' hopes to campaign there ahead of their country's constitutional referendum next month.
Germany's federal government so far has said it won't impose a blanket ban, though the governor of Saarland state — which holds a regional election March 26 — said Tuesday she wants to prevent any such rallies there. It appears that none were planned.
Altmaier told the Funke newspaper group that Germany, like every other country, has the right to prevent members of foreign governments from entering. He said he couldn't remember that ever happening in Germany.
But "the fact that the federal government so far hasn't exhausted its possibilities under international law is not a free pass for the future," Altmaier was quoted as saying.
"We will look very carefully at what is defensible and what is not," he added. "An entry ban would be the last resort. We reserve the right to do that."
Earlier it was reported that Germany intends to impose ban on the speeches of Turkish politicians in the country. On 10 March, the Constitutional Court of Germany ruled out that the members of the foreign governments must make agree their speeches with the Germany’s Government.