Germany accuses former chancellor Schroeder of ties to Russia

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder loses his privileges in Germany. The European Parliament also wants to put him on the sanctions list. These are reactions to the management positions that Schröder has held at Russian state-owned companies in the oil and gas industry. The former leader of Germany refuses to resign from these positions.

Before Schröder (78) is actually included on the sanctions list, it must be proposed and accepted by the European Commission. If this happens, the credit within the EU may be frozen.

Schröder has already lost his right to an office and staff in the German Bundestag. A proposal including Schröder’s own SPD, one of the German coalition parties, was accepted by the Budgets Committee today. This saves the German taxpayer about 400,000 per year.

The former prime minister had already lost most of his seven-man team. Since the start of the war in Ukraine, many of the workers have left, not only because of Schroeder’s location in Russia, but also because he was too close to Putin’s path.

Lobbyist more than lawyer

Contrary to appearances that the movement is only targeting Schroeder, the proposal is to pass a new law. This states that a former chancellor can only request offices and staff if they indeed still offer jobs in the interest of the German state. Schroeder doesn’t do that anymore, he is accused of being more of a Russian energy lobbyist than a German lawyer.

But former Chancellor Merkel could also lose her privileges under this law, for example, although that is not the case now. It currently has an office with nine employees.

The largest opposition group, the CDU/CSU, thinks the coalition’s proposal does not go far enough and also wants to take his legal pension and travel money. According to the German media, the coalition investigated whether this was possible and concluded that it would be illegal.

Putin’s friends

The decision to attack Schroeder for Russian missions did not come out of nowhere. Criticism of the former prime minister’s ties to Russian industry and his longstanding personal friendship with Putin has been mounting for years.

Drawing is a broadcast of a TV program. Organic Boulevard In it, Chancellor Schroeder and Putin, who have been in power for two years, talk at length about the close relations between the two countries. And their personal friendships.

The chancellor says Putin is very good at telling jokes in German. When Putin visits a former KGB colleague of Russia in Germany, he praises Schroeder for his hospitality. Putin is allowed to “order”, in other words the official can say “Gerhard”, which is very unusual in Germany. When asked if they were friends, the Russian president replied: Yes, our relationship has improved.

A few weeks before his departure, Schröder led the construction of the Nord Stream gas pipeline through parliament. Shortly afterwards, he became chairman of the supervisory board of the Russian company that controls the pipeline.

Later on, the chairman of the supervisory board of the Russian public oil company Rosneft will be added. He was recently appointed to the supervisory board of the Russian gas company Gazprom, but has not yet been appointed.