Previously leading the State Chancellery's Nord Stream Investigation Committee
In the heart of Germany, the state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern has been embroiled in a political scandal, centred around the establishment of the Umwelt- und Klimaschutz-MV-Stiftung, or the Climate Protection Foundation.
At the centre of the storm is Reinhard Meyer, a veteran politician who served in various key roles, including Minister of Economics, until his resignation due to health reasons in December 2024. Recently, Meyer was questioned by members of the state parliament's investigative committee on Nord Stream 2 and the Climate Protection Foundation.
Meyer admitted that the initial discussions on the foundation's establishment were solely about Nord Stream 2, not climate protection. He further stated that the reason for establishing the foundation was the establishment of the economic business operations for the completion of Nord Stream 2, with climate protection playing no initial role.
Green representative Damm accused Pegel, the current Minister of the Interior, of lying about authoring the charter himself to conceal the Russian state corporation's significant influence on government decisions. The leading employee of Nord Stream 2 AG confirmed that the initial draft of the foundation's charter did not originate from the state government but from a major law firm.
Representatives of the opposition, including Sebastian Ehlers and Hannes Damm, claim that Nord Stream 2 was the main focus of the foundation, with climate protection being added later and only for the sake of transparency. Ehlers reported that the exchange of documents took place via email with Pegel.
However, the state government still claims that climate protection was the main task of the foundation, as reflected in the charter adopted by the state parliament. According to Thomas Krüger, the chairman of the SPD faction in the investigative committee, the Climate Protection Foundation pursued two core goals - the completion of the pipeline and climate protection.
The controversy has not gone unnoticed by other politicians. AFD representative Michael Meister believes that incidents involving Pegel are accumulating, including the unusually rapid promotion of a senior police officer and the raid at the ministry due to uncollected invoices for COVID-19 masks. The CDU member of parliament Dietmar Eifler continues to support the construction of the pipeline and the establishment of the foundation.
Meyer, a member of the SPD, has criticised the "game of hide and seek" that was later operated under the label 'Climate Protection Foundation'. He stated that he did not wish for such a construction and had demanded openness and transparency internally.
In a surprising move, Pegel deleted all emails related to the foundation's establishment, citing concerns about limited storage space. This has fuelled the opposition's claims of secrecy and deception.
As the investigation continues, the people of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern wait with bated breath for the truth to unfold. The Climate Protection Foundation, intended to protect the environment and combat climate change, now finds itself at the heart of a political storm.
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