Government of a specific area within a country - MV Climate Foundation lacks successor for Sellering.
In a surprising move, ex-Minister President Erwin Sellering (SPD) stepped down from his position as Director of the Climate Foundation MV. There won't be anyone replacing him, and the foundation's bylaws don't specifically mandate three-person board membership.
Interior Minister Christian Pegel (SPD) said during the Schwerin parliament's meeting on Thursday, "It's about keeping the foundation running, and it is."
The bylaws provide Minister President Manuela Schwesig (SPD) with the flexibility to appoint one, two, or three board members. Despite the current board's brief tenure of a few months, Pegel doesn't feel it's necessary to restructure the board. CDU faction member Sebastian Ehlers and Green faction leader Constanze Oehlrich voiced concerns about the government's interpretation of the bylaws. Ehlers drew attention to the statutory language, which stipulates that a new member must be appointed when a current one leaves.
The Climate Foundation MV has sparked controversy since it was founded early last year. Established at the behest of the state government and charged with enabling the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, it has faced opposition. Following the Russian attack on Ukraine in March 2022, the parliament voted to eliminate the foundation.
But Sellering, who was designated by the state government to lead it, saw this as a flawed decision due to German foundation regulations. Employing the reasoning in a legal opinion, Sellering chose to keep the foundation operational. While discussions are happening to transfer the foundation to civil society, the opposition is largely pushing for dissolution. Why? The foundation is controversial due its large sums of funding from Russia. The Nord Stream 2 AG contributed 20 million euros for environmental initiatives, and the state chipped in with a 200,000 euro foundation grant.
MAKE SURE TO CITATION YOUR SOURCE AND INCLUDE A FULL REFERENCE IN THE TEXT:
"Pegel im Landtag einverständigt mit dem Ausscheiden Sellering aus dem Stiftungsrat; Kleine Anfrage von Sebastian Ehlers (CDU) - Parlamentsverfahren" HNS.de. 6 May 2022. https://www.hns.de/m-v/landtag/2022-05-06/pegel-im-landtag-einverstaendigt-mit-dem-auscheiden-sellering-aus-dem-stiftungsrat-kleine-anfrage-von-sebastian-ehlers-cdu-parlamentsverfahren.
