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The Schwerin State Parliament
Photo: Jens Büttner / dpa
A committee of inquiry of the state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania will examine the state's controversial "climate foundation".
After a heated debate, Parliament installed the body.
The parliamentary groups of the Greens, CDU, FDP and AfD voted for the establishment of the committee, the governing groups of the SPD and the left abstained.
All attempts to get sufficient answers about the foundation were blocked by the SPD and its Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig, the Greens said.
In a joint statement with the CDU and FDP, they said they wanted to know "when, for what and from whom funds flowed to the foundation, how political decisions were influenced, what role individual decision-makers played and how deep the influence of Russian circles and the Nord Stream was 2 AG in terms of economic business operations was actually sufficient«.
74 sets of questions
The investigative committee should clarify who was involved in the establishment of the foundation, how the foundation promoted the construction of the Nord Stream 2 natural gas pipeline through the Baltic Sea with covert deals and what influence Nord Stream 2 AG or even Russian government agencies had on the establishment and business of the foundation had foundation.
To this end, the three opposition factions formulated 74 sets of questions for the committee to investigate.
The opposition not only wants to summon Schwesig and the chairman of the foundation, former head of government Erwin Sellering, but also former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (all SPD).
The Greens had previously cited Schröder in the state parliament as a prime example of a combination of political office and a planned move into business.
After leaving politics, he moved to Nord Stream AG as Chairman of the Supervisory Board.
To this day, he is sticking to his post in the Russian economy and is therefore not only criticized within the SPD.
The then state government of SPD and CDU initiated the climate foundation in January 2021.
The primary purpose of the foundation was supposed to be climate protection.
In fact, however, the impression was reinforced that the foundation's main purpose was to promote pipeline construction and to protect the companies involved from sanctions by the USA.
Nord Stream 2 AG paid 20 million euros to the foundation.
Ex-Prime Minister Sellering admitted about two weeks ago that the foundation had received orders from Nord Stream 2 and passed them on to contractors.
The climate foundation had the invoices of the executing companies reimbursed by Nord Stream 2 with a ten percent surcharge.
Four employees worked for this business area of the climate foundation, a managing director of the foundation used to work at Nord Stream 2.
According to information from the opposition groups, however, the foundation was also involved in several companies, among other things to buy a ship, the "Blue Ship", which was involved in laying the last pipeline pipes.
SPD MP criticizes opposition: "A lot of hot air"
The SPD member of parliament Thomas Krüger rejected the allegations of the opposition.
No one can rule out that there were mistakes in the climate foundation, said Krüger.
Before the war, the state government had clearly stood by Nord Stream 2, but Russia's war against Ukraine has now changed everything.
According to the CDU parliamentary group, the employment of the former Nord Stream 2 employee as managing director shows that Nord Stream 2 has received “exclusive and full access to an institution controlled by the state of Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania”.
It was not about protecting companies from Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania from US sanctions.
After Russia's attack on Ukraine, both the state government and the state parliament demanded that the Climate Foundation initiate its dissolution.
Sellering refused because he believes it is illegal.
However, together with his two board colleagues, he announced his resignation on Tuesday as soon as the pipeline business of the climate foundation – probably at the end of September – has been completed.
Prime Minister Schwesig then wants to appoint a new board that will dissolve the foundation.
The foundation's climate protection activities are to be continued under the umbrella of a state-owned agency.
col/AFP/dpa
