Budget Committee: Warken wants to comment on mask deal

As a spokesperson for the Ministry of Health announced on Monday, Warken was invited to the meeting by the Budget Committee. "And the Minister will accept this invitation," it added. There she plans to discuss the 170-page report by Margaretha Sudhoff, which was commissioned by the former Federal Minister of Health. Karl Lauterbach (SPD), who had been appointed as special representative, will comment. According to the Bundestag, the next meeting of the Budget Committee is scheduled for June 25.

In recent days, NDR, WDR, and the Süddeutsche Zeitung, among others, have published excerpts from the special report. The report apparently contains serious allegations against former Health Minister and current CDU/CSU parliamentary group leader Jens Spahn ( CDU ), who headed the department until the end of 2021. He defended himself against allegations about mask procurement during the coronavirus pandemic. In the ARD program "Report from Berlin," he again spoke of an emergency situation at the time.

According to media reports, the report has been available since April. While the Greens and the Left Party are pushing for its full publication, the Federal Ministry of Health has so far kept the report under wraps. According to media reports, a ministry spokesperson cited ongoing proceedings and the protection of personal data as the reasons. However, they are working on a new report summarizing the key findings and will be submitted to the Bundestag's Budget Committee.