German arms deals scrutinized

German news magazine, Der Spiegel, reported that Gabriel approved 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion) worth of arms exports at the beginning of his term from January to the end of April.

The number of permits granted decreased in comparison to the same period last year by around a quarter. However, the permits for exports to countries who are not members of the European Union or NATO rose by 130 million euros to 649 million euros. Some of the controversial recipients include Saudi Arabia (31 million euros), Algeria (29 million euros) and Brunei (97 million euros).

The top three recipients of German arms include Singapore (approximately 195 million euros), the United States (166 million) and South Korea (145 million).

In response to the report, Left Party parliamentarian, Jan van Aken, criticized Gabriel saying, "In public Gabriel is always playing the critic of military exports, but in actuality he does exactly the opposite."

In an interivew with the German Sunday newspaper, Bild am Sonntag, Gabriel said, "Arms exports are not a means of economic policy."

Gabriel said the decisions made over the last few years on arms exports could not be undone and that moving forward he would ensure, "that Germany is significantly more careful," in this regard.

Gabriel is also chairman of the Social Democrat Party (SPD) - the coalition partner to Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU).

hc/crh (Reuters, AFP, dpa)