WAR IN UKRAINE

Former German Chancellor Schröder loses privileges due to Russian ties

FILED - 01 July 2020, Berlin: Gerhard Schroeder, former German Chancellor and head of the Nord Stream 2 Board of Directors, waits for the start of the hearing in the Bundestag's Economics Committee on the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project in the meeting room. Schroeder whose close ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin have proven hugely controversial since the start of the war in Ukraine, has told the New York Times that Putin won't cut Russian gas supplies to Germany. Photo: Kay Nietfeld/dpa.

The Nomad Today

19 de May de 2022 (15:27 h.)

He has worked for the pipeline company Nord Stream and Russia's gas giant Gazprom, among others

Former German chancellor Gerhard Schröder - who has been criticized for his links to Russia - will have to give up some of his privileges, a parliamentary budget committee ruled on Thursday.

His office at the Bundestag will be closed, but the 78-year-old will continue to receive a pension and personal protection.

Germany's governing coalition - led by the Social Democrats (SPD) which Schröder belongs to and once led - decided to cut back his special rights as an ex-chancellor following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

The coalition's proposals fell short of the demand by the conservative opposition that Schröder, chancellor from 1998 to 2005, also lose his pension.

The European Parliament earlier called for sanctions on Schröder due to his business and political ties to Russia.

He has worked for the pipeline company Nord Stream and Russia's gas giant Gazprom, among others.