By Nikolaj Nielsen
Brussels
March 19, 2018
Ukraine is pressing for the EU to impose sanctions against former German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, over his pro-Russian lobbying activities. In an interview published Monday (19 March) in the Bild newspaper, Ukraine's foreign minister Pavlo Klimkin described Schroeder as "the most important lobbyist of Putin's projects worldwide. That is why the European Union should analyse its possible actions." Shortly after Schroeder stepped down as Germany's chancellor in 2005, he became a chairman at Nord Stream, a company that is majority owned by Russian energy group Gazprom. The move to the senior post was made after Schroeder, while still chancellor, authorised a controversial Nord Stream pipeline to ship Russian gas directly to Germany via the Baltic Sea. It meant bypassing transit countries like Poland and Ukraine. His loyalty appears to have been rewarded given a recent promotion. Last year, he became chairman of Rosneft, another state-owned Russian oil giant.
A second pipeline, Nord Stream 2, has also received the backing of Angela Merkel's government although it opposes any plans to bypass Ukraine as a transit country. Merkel's government has in the past tried to distance itself from Schroeder. In 2014, the former Social Democrat was seen embracing Russian president Vladimir Putin shortly after Russia had invaded Ukraine and then annexed Crimea. Russia has used and continues to use the gas as an extension of its power against critical governments and states. An EU source said it was legally possible to impose EU asset freezes and visa bans on EU nationals, such as Schroeder. The visa ban would mean that they would not be allowed to leave their home country to travel to other EU states.
