The Federal Ministry of Finance must issue a total of twelve text messages (SMS) of ex-finance minister Christian Lindner (46; FDP). The Berlin Administrative Court decided this in the dispute over Lindner’s contact with Porsche boss Oliver Blume (56) in the summer of 2022 in the context with the discussion about synthetic fuels. A complaint from the organization was deducted Deputy
Successful, as the court announced. The judgment has not yet been final (Az.: VG 2 K 60/23).
In August 2022, the association called for the Federal Ministry of Finance to get an insight into the SMS exchange. He justified this by the fact that he wanted to investigate the influence of lobby actors. However, the ministry rejected the publication. Among other things, it argued that the news would not be subject to the Environmental Information Act (UIG). In some cases, they only concern Lindner in his role as federal chairman of the FDP.
Federal Ministry of Finance refuses information
The association did not accept this and went to court – with success. The news was environmental information, the administrative court judged. The judges explained that they would be related to the “Fit for 55” climate package on June 28 and 29, 2022 of June 28 and 29, 2022 and the regulation for tightening the CO₂ emission standards for new passenger cars.
These are personal data from Lindner and the Porsche CEO. In this case, however, the public interests of “experiencing content and nature of communication, which may enable conclusions to be drawn about any closeness between governing and third parties on the subject of e-fuel”. From the point of view of MPwatch, the judgment is a “milestone in terms of transparency”. For the first time, the public would now find out “how a minister communicated with a lobbyist via SMS”, it says in an amount of the organization
.
Court does not see personal rights violated
The FDP had the Display rejectedthat party leader Lindner exchanged closely with Porsche boss Blume in the question of dealing with synthetic fuels. It was about a possible influence on the behavior in the dispute over synthetic fuels.
A ZDF report was preceded by a possible influence of the car manufacturer on the policy of the former traffic light coalition. According to this, Blume is said to have said at a works meeting that his group had “large part” in the fact that further use of synthetically produced e-fuel for combustion engines had been incorporated into the coalition agreement at that time. At the time, a Porsche spokesman said that it was “exaggerated in the course of the event, we apologize for that”. The exchange did not take place in this way that there was no influence.
At the end of June 2022, there had been disputes in the then coalition of SPD, Greens and FDP about a ban on the new registration of combustion cars from 2035 at EU level. Lindner had rejected the ban on the ban. In the coalition negotiations in autumn 2021, the traffic light had agreed to ban new registrations for combustion engines from 2035-for cars that can only be operated with e-fuel, but there should be an exception.