Former German leader Gerhard Schroeder sues the legislature for lost benefits

• Gerhard Schroeder, a former German chancellor who was lambasted for his friendship with Vladimir Putin, is suing Germany’s parliament.
• Schroeder is suing over the elimination of some post-retirement benefits; his office and personnel have been suspended.
• Schroeder resigned from the Rosneft board in May and declined a position on the supervisory board of Gazprom, a major player in the gas industry.

 Gerhard Schroeder, a former German chancellor who was lambasted for his friendship with Vladimir Putin, is suing Germany’s parliament.

Mr. Schroeder is suing over the elimination of some post-retirement benefits; his office and personnel have been suspended.

His attorney confirmed on Friday that he had brought a lawsuit before the Berlin administrative court to the German news agency DPA.

The Bundestag stated it had not yet received the lawsuit and was unable to make further comments.

The budget committee that made the decision to take away his benefits came to the conclusion that Mr. Schroeder, 78, “no longer upholds the continuous requirements of his position.”

However, in an interview with the public radio station, NDR on Friday, his attorney Michael Nagel claimed that the suspension of Mr. Schroeder’s taxpayer-funded position was “contrary to the rule of law.”

He continued by saying that Mr. Schroeder, who served as president from 1998 to 2005, requested a hearing before the committee but was not given the opportunity to speak.

An administrative court in Berlin spokeswoman acknowledged that the attorneys had made a complaint.

Schroeder resigned from the Rosneft board in May and declined a position on the supervisory board of Gazprom, a major player in the gas industry.

He still keeps a tight relationship with the Kremlin, though.

After meeting with President Putin in Moscow in late July, he declared that Russia was prepared for a “negotiated solution” to the conflict in Ukraine.

Volodymyr Zelensky, the president of Ukraine, referred to these remarks as “disgusting.”

He avoided being kicked out of the local Social Democrat chapter earlier this week when a committee ruled there was no proof he had infringed any party regulations.

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