No more office, no employees, possibly EU sanctions: Gerhard Schröder recently had to swallow a few bitter pills. The fact that the former chancellor, who has been criticized, is now giving up his post at Rosneft is not enough for some. FDP Vice Kubicki warns not to ask too much of the SPD politician.
FDP Federal Deputy Wolfgang Kubicki has rejected demands that former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder should give up more jobs at Russian companies. "No further action is required, neither by the ex-chancellor nor by the German Bundestag," said Kubicki, who is also Bundestag Vice President, to the newspapers of the Funke media group. "Consequences are understandable and understandable, but the line of humiliation should not be crossed," he said.
Among other things, he contradicted Chancellor Olaf Scholz. He had asked Schröder to stop further activities for companies from the country after resigning from the supervisory board post at the Russian energy company Rosneft. "We note that it is now happening to one, and the others must also follow," said Scholz on Saturday in Hildesheim on the sidelines of the SPD state delegate conference. The Federal Chancellor stressed that Schröder stands alone with his attitude.
Rosneft announced on Friday that Schröder would not extend his term as head of the supervisory board. The 78-year-old is also nominated for the supervisory board of the Russian energy group Gazprom and works as a leading lobbyist for the Gazprom subsidiaries Nord Stream and Nord Stream 2. The Gazprom general meeting is scheduled for June 30th. In his only interview with the New York Times since the beginning of the Ukraine war, Schröder left open whether he would accept the nomination for the supervisory board post.
As a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Schröder had come under massive pressure for his activities for Russian energy companies in Germany and the EU. The Budget Committee of the Bundestag canceled the former chancellor's state-funded office and staff positions on Thursday. The European Parliament also voted with a large majority to impose EU sanctions on the former chancellor. The SPD is running party exclusion proceedings against him.
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