Exposing the Mask Scandal: Greens Demand Immediate Release of Report on Procurement Malpractice
hiding investigation findings on mask acquisition deemed 'outrageous' or 'shocking' concealment of report on mask purchases
In a fiery call for transparency, the Greens are urging the immediate release of an internal investigation report detailing the controversial mask procurement practices during the reign of former Health Minister, Jens Spahn (CDU).
"For God's sake, spill the beans on the mask procurement fiasco pronto, in its entirety, and redact-free!" declared Green parliamentary group leader Britta Haßelmann to AFP on Sunday. She slammed the current Minister, Nina Warken (CDU), for withholding the report, calling it "downright scandalous."
"We're talking about a massive taxpayer-funded blunder here," Haßelmann thundered, likening the potential financial repercussions to the car toll scandal involving former federal transport minister Andreas Scheuer (CSU). The Greens demand that responsibility for the actions in mask procurement during the COVID-19 pandemic must be fully unveiled, with a special focus on "the responsibility of decisions and contract awards made by Jens Spahn."
According to investigative reports by NDR, WDR, and "Süddeutsche Zeitung" published last Friday, Spahn finds himself in hot water due to the explosive 170-page report by Margaretha Sudhoff, the special commissioner appointed by the former federal health minister, Karl Lauterbach (SPD). Spahn was health minister during the pandemic until the end of 2021.
The allegations center around the fact that Spahn awarded a North Rhine-Westphalia-based logistics company, Fiege, a mask procurement contract worth 1.5 billion euros without a bidding process. This move came despite warnings from the federal ministry of the interior—the department responsible for logistics issues—against hiring Fiege, as reported in the "Süddeutsche Zeitung." There were also objections raised in the government’s corona crisis team, which Spahn breezily overruled.
The doomed procurement project, which ultimately fell through, has been estimated to inflict a multi-billion-euro loss on the German federal government, with many of the masks eventually being destroyed, according to further reports in "SZ." The scandal also extends to the procurement of protective clothing and disinfectants. The Sudhoff report has been in the hands of the media since April 2025 but remains unpublished as of now.
Sources: ntv.de, afp
Behind the Scenes
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Germany struggled to secure sufficient quantities of masks. In early 2020, the health ministry, under Jens Spahn, employed an "Open House" process to secure a vast amount of masks, resulting in a massive oversupply and the government holding a staggering 6.4 billion euros worth of masks[1], far exceeding the initial budget of 1.2 billion euros.
Current State of Affairs
The Greens' latest demands for transparency and accountability follow accusations that Spahn exhibited concerning procurement practices during his tenure as health minister. The ongoing allegations underscore the urgent need for the Greens to publish the internal investigation report, revealing the full extent of the mask procurement debacle, to ensure answers regarding potential wrongdoing are provided.
As of now, there is no recent update on the government's response to the Greens' demands or any progress regarding the publication of the report. However, the persisting accusations and the ongoing debate around accountability in public procurement processes continue to captivate public attention.
The Greens' call for the immediate release of the internal investigation report on the mask procurement scandal during Jens Spahn's tenure as Health Minister is rooted in concerns about potential policy-and-legislation violations and financial mismanagement, as the controversy involves a significant sum of taxpayer money. This political instance intertwines with the general news of the mask procurement fiasco, raising questions about the role of politics in such decisions and the need for transparency.
