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Federal Ministry of Economics: Habeck: New information is the reason for Graichen’s departure

Federal Ministry of Economics: Habeck: New information is the reason for Graichen’s departure

The questionable behavior of his top employee Patrick Graichen got Economics Minister Robert Habeck in trouble. Now Habeck pulls the ripcord – because of further allegations.

Secretary of State for Economic Affairs Patrick Graichen has to vacate his post as a result of further internal audits. That said Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (both Greens) in Berlin. The background is therefore the planned financial support for a project by the BUND regional association in Berlin, on whose board Graichen’s sister is. The state secretary should therefore be placed on temporary retirement.

Habeck said he had known about the process since last Tuesday. However, a first cursory assessment was exculpatory – which changed with a more thorough examination. In November 2022, Graichen approved a list of “project outlines”. One of them was about a project by the Berlin State Association of the Federal Environment and Nature Conservation Association (BUND) with a sum of almost 600,000 euros. Verena Graichen was state chairwoman of BUND in Berlin until May 2022.

“One mistake too many”

The project was classified as eligible for funding, so a final decision was only a matter of form. Money has not yet flowed, said Habeck. The process would not have been presented to Graichen, nor should he have signed it. It is a compliance violation, i.e. a violation of internal ethics rules.

“It’s one mistake too many,” said Habeck. That’s why he made this decision today. “This is a far-reaching, difficult decision – far-reaching for my house, difficult for me and very hard for Patrick Graichen. But it’s about protecting trust in the work of this house as an institution. It’s about maintaining the political ability to act .”

Groomsmen selected for Dena chief post

Graichen was recently criticized for his involvement in the selection of his best man for the chief post of the federal German Energy Agency (Dena). Both Graichen and Habeck now speak of a mistake. The procedure for selecting personnel is to be rolled out again.

After a joint survey in the committees for energy and economy and climate protection last Wednesday, Habeck still stuck to Graichen. “I have decided that Patrick Graichen does not have to go because of this mistake,” the minister said after the two-and-a-half-hour meeting. However, a civil service examination is now underway, because the requirements of the Ministry of Economic Affairs have “recognisably been violated”.

Opposition representatives had shown themselves to be unimpressed after the meeting and saw further open questions. Graichen’s resignation was also repeatedly demanded. Representatives of the CDU/CSU had also brought a committee of inquiry into play.

There is also criticism of personal ties in the Ministry of Economic Affairs. Graichen’s sister, married to his colleague Michael Kellner, works like her brother at the Öko-Institut – a research institute that receives orders from the federal government. The ministry emphasizes that Kellner and Graichen were not involved in tenders for which the Öko-Institut could have applied.

Source: Stern

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