Climate Protection Foundation - Committee of Inquiry summons former Chancellor Schröder as a witness
Investigation Committee of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Parliament for Clarification of Events Surrounding the Climate Protection Foundation intends to hear Minister-President Manuela Schwesig and former Federal Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder (both SPD) as witnesses.
The Committee made this decision in a non-public session based on an inter-factional motion to hear Schroeder as Chairman of Nord Stream 2 AG. The exact dates for all witness hearings will be decided at a later time, the SPD fraction announced after the session.
The Foundation was founded at the beginning of 2021 to enable the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline despite US sanctions, which was also achieved. The special committee, initiated by the opposition, aims to clarify, among other things, how great the influence of Russian donors was on the SPD/CDU state government during the foundation of the Foundation. Nord Stream 2, a subsidiary of the Russian state conglomerate Gazprom, was the largest donor to the Climate Protection Foundation MV with 20 million Euro.
- Manuela Schwesig, the Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and a member of the SPD, will be called to testify before the Investigation Committee of the state parliament.
- The government in Germany, led by the SPD in Schwerin, is being scrutinized by the parliamentary committee due to its relationship with the Climate Protection Foundation.
- Gerhard Schröder, a former Federal Chancellor and the chairman of Nord Stream 2 AG, is also expected to appear before the committee to provide insights into the events surrounding the foundation of the Climate Protection Foundation.
- The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, a project of Nord Stream 2 AG, a subsidiary of the Russian state conglomerate Gazprom, was a significant donor to the Climate Protection Foundation in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, contributing 20 million Euro.
- The Parliament's Investigation Committee is primarily focusing on understanding the extent of influence Russian donors wielded on the SPD/CDU state government when the Climate Protection Foundation was established.
- The SPD fraction in Germany confirmed that the dates for all witness hearings, including those of Manuela Schwesig and Gerhard Schröder, will be determined at a later stage.
