Dealing with the climate foundation MV is again a topic in this state parliament week. After the announced resignation of the foundation’s board of directors, the ball is in the hands of the state government in terms of dissolution.

The state parliament in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania wants to set up a parliamentary committee of inquiry into the controversial climate foundation MV on Wednesday. The opposition parties CDU, Greens and FDP want to clarify the background of the foundation, which is largely financed by gas deals with Russia.

The day before, the board of the foundation had announced his resignation for probably the end of September. However, CDU parliamentary group leader Franz-Robert Liskow immediately made it clear that this had no relevance to the work of the committee of inquiry.

The foundation, its support for the construction of the German-Russian Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline and the cooperation between the pipeline operator and the state government in the north-east have been the subject of discussions for weeks. The foundation is an example of the threat to democratic structures, said Hannes Damm, energy and climate policy spokesman for the Greens parliamentary group. The opposition continues to see the need for more transparency.

Resolution board responsible

In retrospect, Prime Minister Manuela Schwesig (SPD) described the support for the energy project and the foundation after the Russian invasion of Ukraine as a mistake. The state parliament decided in March that the foundation should be dissolved.

This wish should now be implemented by a resolution board appointed by the state government, as Schwesig explained. The prime minister said the state government would take legal responsibility for it. However, she would like Parliament to support her in taking this step.

The SPD and the left want to appeal to the board of the controversial foundation for climate and environmental protection MV to dissolve the foundation. The state government should be asked to end the foundation by repealing it should it not dissolve itself. The government report outlined these options as legally feasible. It is not yet clear whether this motion will already be on the agenda for Wednesday. A request for an emergency meeting on Tuesday was rejected by the President of the State Parliament, Birgit Hesse (SPD).

In addition, a topical lesson on the subject of energy security and the affordability of energy and mobility is scheduled. According to the SPD in the state parliament, the political discussion about the accelerated energy transition that Germany is aiming for should be made transparent in this way.