BERLIN (AP) – Germany is clamping down on election rallies by foreign officials following a spat with Turkey ahead of that country’s constitutional referendum.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Martin Schaefer says all embassies were informed Friday that they will have to apply for permission to stage political rallies addressing their citizens in Germany.
Schaefer says permission will automatically be denied if the country in question is scheduled to hold an election within three months of the rally. European Union members will be exempt from the rule.
Schaefer told reporters in Berlin that the move was the result of the “experience of recent months,” citing the dispute with Turkey.Germany announced Thursday it would deny permission for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to address Turks when he visits for the upcoming G-20 meeting in Hamburg.
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