Schroeder To Lead Baltic Pipeline Consortium

Gerhard Schroeder (left) with Gazprom CEO Aleksei Miller at a Moscow press conference today (epa)

March 30, 2006 -- Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder was today appointed chairman of the consortium building a natural-gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea.

In Moscow, Gazprom chief executive Aleksei Miller announced the appointment at the inaugural meeting of the Russian-German consortium.

"Representatives of each company in the committee of shareholders were appointed today, and Mr. Schroeder was elected chairman of the committee of shareholders [of the company that will build the North European Gas Pipeline]," Miller said.

Schroeder joined executives from the Russian and German energy giants Gazprom, BASF, and E.On in Moscow for the meeting. He will receive an annual salary of 250,000 euros ($300,000).

Schroeder's nomination has provoked a storm of criticism in Germany over his alleged use of his official position for personal gain.

Construction of the Baltic pipeline started in September to link Russia's vast gas reserves with the German market. Russia's Gazprom has a 51 percent stake in the consortium, while German groups BASF and E.On hold 24.5 percent each.

(AFP, AP)