Former German chancellor with ties to Russia sues over lost privileges

Former German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder has filed a lawsuit against the German parliament over its decision to strip him of some of his allowances because of his ties to Russia, German wire service DPA reports.

Driving the news: The German parliament's finance committee in May cut funding for Schröder's staff, an annual expense of about 400,000 euros, or $412,000, and office space.

• The committee also issued a regulation saying former chancellors who don't have ongoing obligations connected to their former role should no longer be given an office, Politico reports.
• Schröder's lawyer called the decision unlawful and said that it is unclear what "ongoing obligations" mean.

The big picture: Schröder, who was chancellor from 1998 to 2005, has close ties with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the New York Times notes. He was the

• Schröder has reportedly traveled to Moscow at least two times in recent months, and he's come under fire for calling for negotiations with Putin.

Go deeper... German chancellor points to "indications" that Kremlin is still open to dialogue