BMW Family Accused of Buying EU CO2 Ruling from German PM

The family that controls BMWBMWGermany, 1918 > present87 models
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is being criticized for making large donations to German Prime Minister Angela Merkel’s CDU party prior to her being instrumental in blocking the EU lowering average CO2 emissions. 

Financial filings to the CDU party show that Johanna Quandt, her son Stefan Quandt and her daughter Susanne Klatten contributed €690,000 to Merkel’s party on October 9, 2013. The Quandt’s hold 47% of BMW stock. Political opponents are criticizing both the family and Merkel for overt lobbying.

The CDU has denied that the donation had anything to do with Merkel opposing the lowered emissions. Merkel has been opposing the lowered emissions for months and spoke about it at the Frankfurt Motor Show. She says that the lowered emissions average would have cost German jobs.

A spokesperson for the Quandt family said that they waited until October to make the political donation because they did not want to be accused of affecting Germany’s national election on September 22.

The family previously donated €150,000 to the party following the 2009 German national election.

German law requires that personal political donations of more than €50,000 must be publicly reported.

Source: Automotive News Europe