A transport minister should weigh the interests of all groups equally.
But according to a list from his ministry, Andreas Scheuer apparently does not do that.
Berlin - Transport Minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU) has had direct contact with representatives of the automotive industry 80 times since he took office - and only once with environmental associations.
That comes from a response from the ministry to a request from the Green MP Sven-Christian Kindler, which the German Press Agency received on Monday.
First the "Süddeutsche Zeitung" reported about it.
Kindler described Scheuer as "Minister of the car lobby".
The ministry's response lists all meetings, video conferences or telephone calls with representatives of the automotive industry since Scheuer took office in March 2018.
Scheuer met with car managers at “Autogipfeln”, but also made direct phone calls or, for example, met the CEOs of VW and Daimler.
According to the list, Scheuer once met with representatives of environmental organizations at a parliamentary evening of the “National Platform for the Future of Mobility” (NPM) at the end of January 2020 - representatives of the automotive industry were also present.
The ministry's response said the data may not be complete.
There is no obligation to record all conversations held.
A spokeswoman for the Ministry of Transport said on Monday that the minister was in close contact with representatives of the most varied of interests. In addition to the automotive industry, these included railway companies, companies and associations for local public transport, the Association of the Railway Industry, representatives of the bicycle lobby, as well as air and sea transport. In discussions with the automotive industry and, above all, with the suppliers, the primary aim is to accompany the transformation of the industry with a view to climate-friendly drive technologies.
Kindler, on the other hand, said: “The CSU minister can be reached day and night for the bosses of the car companies, while he lets the environmental associations down cold.” In recent years, Scheuer has fought vehemently against climate protection requirements for the car industry and the rapid switch to electromobility.
Jens Hilgenberg, Head of Transport Policy at the BUND environmental association, said: “It is unclear to us which environmental association Mr Scheuer wants to have an exchange with during the NPM.
As far as I know, there have been no personal conversations with the BUND in the four years.
This is all the more astonishing because individual car manufacturers have shown and show interest in the assessments of environmental associations on climate protection, the traffic turnaround and the transformation of the auto industry. ”Dpa