Germany and Turkey have had a fair share of differences and tensions over the years. But their latest row – over kebabs – is in danger of turning nasty.
Last April, German president Frank-Walter Steinmeier decided to bring along a 60-kilogram döner kebab on his state visit to Turkey. It did not go down well. Turks found the stunt condescending; Germans were mortified. Ankara lodged an official request with the European Commission to make the dish a ‘traditional speciality’, thereby regulating what can be sold under the name ‘döner’ in Europe.
Turkey aims to dictate what can be sold as döner kebab
This spat isn’t, of course, the first time Germany and Turkey have failed to see eye to eye. In 2022, the Turkish authorities clamped down on German state broadcaster Deutsche Welle in a row over licensing; in 2019, Germany imposed an arms export bans on Turkey over its role in the Syrian civil war.
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