At the beginning of the pandemic, the state was desperately looking for masks and often bought them at special prices. Disputes over this entail considerable risks. From the Greens’ point of view, this is just the tip of the iceberg.
Following reports of billions of euros in risks from disputes over the delivery of corona protective masks, the Greens in the Bundestag are demanding clarification from former Federal Health Minister Jens Spahn (CDU). “Keeping quiet and ducking away is not enough,” said parliamentary group vice-chairman Andreas Audretsch. Spahn must now speak out. Huge sums of money are at stake, which would then be missing from the budget for investments in the future.
As can be seen from a response from the Ministry of Health to a query from FDP budget politician Karsten Klein, the federal government is facing high financial risks from still simmering disputes over the delivery of protective masks at special conditions during the corona pandemic. According to the report, lawsuits have currently been filed in around 100 cases with a total value in dispute of 2.3 billion euros. The “Welt am Sonntag” newspaper was the first to report on this.
“Why did Minister Spahn keep files under lock and key?”
The background to this is the government procurement of urgently needed but very scarce masks for the health care system in the early phase of the 2020 Corona crisis. In order to be faster, the ministry used a special procedure in which supply contracts were concluded at fixed purchase prices without further negotiations. In many cases, the ministry later refused to pay, citing quality defects, among other things. Suppliers and dealers then filed lawsuits. In retrospect, criticism was also voiced that too many masks had been procured.
Audretsch stressed that the looming billion-dollar risks were “just the tip of the iceberg.” The Federal Audit Office had already examined the processes in reports in 2021 and 2024, identified massive deficiencies and raised many questions: “Why were high-risk contracts concluded that now do not stand up in court? Why were purchases made at exorbitantly inflated prices? Why did Minister Spahn keep files under lock and key? How can it be that billions of masks have to be destroyed?” Taxpayers must now pay the price for Spahn’s poor management.
Source: Stern
I have been working in the news industry for over 6 years, first as a reporter and now as an editor. I have covered politics extensively, and my work has appeared in major newspapers and online news outlets around the world. In addition to my writing, I also contribute regularly to 24 Hours World.
