Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder on Friday criticised a parliamentary enquiry into the Nord Stream pipeline as “ridiculous” and said he had no regrets about his role in its controversial construction.
Testifying via video link and citing ill health, Schroeder, 81, told the commission that it was an “extremely sensible decision” on the part of the state to agree to set up the foundation, the Mecklenburg-Vorpommern Climate Protection Fund, AFP wrote.
He said Nord Stream 2 AG, which is backing the pipeline project, had contributed about 20 million euros ($23 million) to the fund, adding that the fund “serves to advance the project without fear of US sanctions.”
Germany needs natural gas “at reasonable prices,” Schroeder said, and he sees no reason to break the “proven cooperation” his predecessors established with Russia on energy supplies.
Schroeder, of Germany’s Social Democratic Party, has repeatedly said he does not remember key details, particularly when it comes to his talks with Manuela Schwesig, prime minister of the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
According to German newspaper Bild, throughout the 160-minute interrogation, the former chancellor made every effort to avoid dubious or obscure questions, at times being defiant. One MP asked whether Schroeder continued to receive a salary from Gazprom after Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Schroeder denied “such nonsense.”
According to the publication, the former chancellor has already twice refused to attend the commission meeting, ignoring initial summonses in January and March with doctor’s certificates, citing “severe burnout syndrome” and “difficulties with concentration and memorisation”.
The investigation in the regional parliament of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania concerns political influence over the construction of a pipeline between Russia and Germany and possible Russian interference in favour of the project. The investigation focuses on the Earth Climate Protection Fund, which was allegedly used to protect companies involved in its construction from US sanctions.
The Nord Stream 2 pipeline was never commissioned as German authorities cancelled its approval process just days before Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022.
Explosions on the Nord Streams later in 2022 damaged three of the four pipelines.
After the liberation and after Russia launched a full-scale war against Ukraine, Schroeder did not cut off his personal contacts with Putin or make any public statements condemning his actions. Already during the large-scale war, he travelled to Moscow on several occasions. The former chancellor met there with the Russian leadership, including Putin, and discussed economic policy issues, especially the export of Russian oil and gas to Europe. For this he was heavily criticised in Germany.
Schroeder also lost his right to use the office of the former German chancellor.
He was due to join the supervisory board of Russia’s state-owned energy company Gazprom in 2022, but refused under pressure after Russia launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February that year. He did, however, attend a reception at the Russian embassy in Berlin a year after the invasion.
Schroeder approved the first Nord Stream pipeline in his final weeks in office in 2005. His successor Angela Merkel approved the second pipeline in 2018.