The German taxpayers' association has called on ex-Chancellor Gerhard Schröder (SPD) to forego his post-official equipment.

"I appeal to Mr. Schröder to give up his state-provided office, employees and company car," said the Vice President of the Taxpayers' Association, Michael Jäger, the newspaper "Bild" on Saturday.

"He lobbies for Russian business interests with tax-financed German infrastructure."

As announced on Friday, Schröder has been nominated for the supervisory board of the Russian state gas company Gazprom.

The Annual General Meeting is therefore planned for June 30th.

Schröder is to replace Timur Kulibayev, a son-in-law of former Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev, who was ousted in the wake of the January riots.

The 77-year-old Schröder is already Chairman of the Shareholders' Committee of Nord Stream AG and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Nord Stream 2 AG.

The former chancellor is also the head of the supervisory board at the Russian state energy company Rosneft.

Former chancellors and former federal presidents are entitled to offices and staff in Berlin.

On Friday, the parliamentary secretary of the CSU in the Bundestag, Stefan Müller, spoke out in favor of withdrawing Schröder's office.

The FDP defense politician Marie-Agnes Strack-Zimmermann also wrote on Twitter that one had to think about withdrawing Schröder's equipment.