The European Parliament member Daniel Freund (Grüne) demands that the designated Federal Economic Minister Katherina Reiche (CDU) and the designated Digital Minister Karsten Wildberger disclose meetings with lobbyists. In a letter reported by the “Spiegel”, Freund urges both to “publish your meetings with persons and organizations that fall under the jurisdiction of the lobbying register”. This would make it transparent that they are not acting in the interest of a company or a specific industry.
Reiche is expected to directly transition from her position as CEO of Westenergie AG to the role of Federal Minister without any transition or cooling-off period, which Freund criticizes in the letter. “This is associated with risks of potential conflicts of interest” he states. The same applies to Wildberger, who is CEO of the Ceconomy Group and chairman of the management board of Media-Saturn-Holding. The CDU has set high transparency and integrity standards for the Ministry of Economic Affairs, which was previously led by Green Minister Robert Habeck. Publishing meetings with lobbyists – which has been mandatory for EU Commissioners since 2014 – can help meet these high standards and prevent the appearance of conflicts of interest.