Government - Subcommittee summons former Chancellor Schröder as witness
Investigation Committee of the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Parliament for Clarification of Events Surrounding the Climate Protection Foundation
The 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 Schröder (both SPD) as witnesses. The Committee made this decision in a non-public session on Friday based on an inter-factional application to hear Schröder as chairman of Nord Stream 2 as a witness. The exact dates for all witness hearings will be decided at a later time, the SPD fraction announced after the session.
"In today's session, we have decided on numerous other witnesses. At the suggestion of our fraction, all five democratic factions of the coalition and opposition have agreed in advance on a joint witness list," said Thomas Krüger, chairman of the SPD fraction. This list includes former or current members of the state government or former or current state secretaries.
On the list are: Till Backhaus (SPD), Minister of Agriculture, Lorenz Caffier (CDU), former Interior Minister, Patrick Dahlemann (SPD), Chief of the State Chancellery, Birgit Gärtner, former State Secretary in the Justice Ministry, Harry Glawe (CDU), former Economics Minister, Katy Hoffmeister (CDU), former Justice Minister, Thomas Lenz, former State Secretary in the Interior Ministry, Christian Pegel (SPD), current Interior Minister and former Energy Minister, Torsten Renz (CDU), former Interior Minister, Stephan Rudolph, former State Secretary in the Economics Ministry.
The Foundation was founded at the beginning of 2021 to enable the completion of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline bypassing US sanctions, which was also successful. The special investigation committee, initiated by the opposition, aims to clarify, among other things, how great the influence of Russian donors was on the former SPD/CDU state government during the foundation of the Climate Protection Foundation MV. Nord Stream 2, a subsidiary of the Russian state concern Gazprom, was the largest donor to the Climate Protection Foundation MV with 20 million Euro.
- The Investigation Committee plans to invite Gerhard Schröder, a former Federal Chancellor and chairman of Nord Stream 2, as a witness due to his role in the foundation's affairs.
- The SPD fraction, led by Manuela Schwesig, the current Minister-President of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, has suggested including several government officials and former state secretaries in the list of witnesses.
- The Government of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, under Schwesig's leadership, is being investigated by the Parliament's special committee due to allegations of undue influence from Russian donors, including Nord Stream 2, in the establishment of the Climate Protection Foundation.
- The CDU, while being part of the opposition, agreed on a joint witness list with the coalition factions, which includes prominent figures such as Till Backhaus, Christian Pegel, and Torsten Renz, for the Parliament's investigation committee.
- Mecklenburg-Vorpommern State Parliament's Investigation Committee will conduct hearings in Schwerin, the capital city of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania, to examine the environmental policy and influence of donors like Nord Stream 2 on the formation of the Climate Protection Foundation.
