BERLIN, Aug. 21 (Xinhua) -- German Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU) criticized her predecessor Gerhard Schroeder (SPD) for his planned executive committee work for the Russian energy company Rosneft. "What Mr Schroeder does is out of order," she told newspaper Bild on Monday.
Schroeder plans to assume a management position in the supervisory board of the Rosneft Group which is majority owned by the Russian government.
Merkel emphasized in her statement that Rosneft is a listed company and subject to EU sanctions in the context of the Ukraine crisis. Since 2014, the group is not allowed to purchase special technology and services for oil production from the EU and is excluded from long-term loans.
SPD leader and chancellor candidate Martin Schulz also distanced himself from Schroeder. Other SPD politicians, on the other hand, defended the behavior of the former chancellor.
Merkel stated that after her time in office, she would not want to move from politics into the private sector. "I do not intend to assume a function in the private sector once I am no longer chancellor of Germany," she said.
The chancellor, also CDU top candidate, added that she was now concentrating fully on the election campaign and "on the fact that I would like to be chancellor again."
