Members of the European Parliament want to call on the 27 member states to include former Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) on the EU sanctions list, which already includes numerous Russian oligarchs. In the draft for a resolution that WELT has, it says: After the resignation of a number of Western politicians from posts in Russian corporations, they “strongly demand that others like Karin Kneissl and Gerhard Schröder do the same”.
Kneissl is an Austrian non-party politician and has been a member of the supervisory board of the Russian state-controlled oil company Rosneft since last year. Schröder is the chairman of the supervisory board there.
The draft is “a real signal from Europe. Former chancellors must continue to consider the well-being of their state after their time,” said EPP MP Stefan Berger (CDU) WELT. In the event that Schröder and Kneissl remain in their posts, MEPs are calling on the EU Council to “extend the list of people affected by EU sanctions to include European board members of large Russian companies and politicians who continue to receive Russian funds,” the draft reads. Both Schröder and Kneissl have so far refused to waive the post and the associated remuneration.
After lengthy debates, the deputies from the Christian Democrats and Conservatives (EPP), the Social Democrats and Socialists (p
In a first draft, only Gerhard Schöder was mentioned. The Social Democrats in Parliament, including those from Germany, did not object, but referred to other politicians who also work for Russian companies and should be included on the list.
The resolution is to be passed by the plenum on Thursday. Due to the unity of the four large factions, a strong majority for any measures against Schröder and others is considered certain. Then the representatives of the 27 member countries have to approve the draft. There will be an opportunity to do so at a meeting on Friday. Approval by the German representatives is quite likely.
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