Outrage in German Bundestag as ex-chancellor joins Gazprom

Germany's conservative Christian Social Union (CSU) has called for former chancellor Gerhard Schröder to be stripped of his government stipend after it became known that he was taking a position on the board of Russian gas company Gazprom on Friday.

"Gerhard Schröder's behaviour is damaging Germany. We should talk across party lines about withdrawing his official stipend," said Stefan Müller, parliamentary director of the CSU in the Bundestag, on Friday.

"Those who allow themselves to be paid by autocrats do not need money from German taxpayers," he added, saying he was in favour of developing non-partisan rules governing the business activities of former chancellors.

Former German chancellors receive a state stipend after leaving office to pay for staff and other expenses.

Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann of the business friendly Free Democrats tweeted that consideration should be given to depriving Schröder of his stipend, adding that he was harming the country he was supposed to serve and allowing himself "to be paid more than well for this by an autocrat. Appanage from the German state is incompatible with that."

The outrage followed the announcement earlier on Friday that Schröder, who led Germany from 1998 to 2005, was to join the supervisory board of Russian state-owned gas company Gazprom. His appointment is to be sealed at company's AGM on June 30.

Schröder, who considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a friend, will replace Timur Kulibayev, a son-in-law of former Kazakh president Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was ousted from his position in the wake of violent unrest in Kazakhstan in January.

Schröder already has a number of high-ranking positions in Russian business and his links to Russia are often the source of controversy in Germany, including within his own party.

As well as being chairman of the board of state energy company Rosneft, he is also chairman of the shareholders' committee of Nord Stream and president of the board of directors at Nord Stream 2.

Both gas pipelines connect Russia and Germany via the Baltic Sea. Critics of Russia, most notably the United States, have said that Nord Stream 2, which is not yet in operation, could be used as leverage against Moscow if it stages a military incursion in Ukraine.

Ukraine's demands for arms deliveries from its Western supporters amid spiralling tensions at its border with Russia have been described by Schröder as "sabre-rattling."

He has also blamed NATO for Russia's mass deployment of troops at the border.