Germany has stripped former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder of several official privileges over his refusal to end his relationship with Russian energy giants Gazprom. 

Schroeder, chancellor from 1998 to 2005, will lose access to his annual $420,000 entitlement to offices and employees, including chauffeurs, paid for by German taxpayers.

The perks are awarded to all former leaders, like Angel Merkel, who ended Schroeder's chancellorship in a 2005 federal election. The German ruling coalition, led by Chancellor Olaf Scholz, assessed that Schroeder failed to uphold the obligations of his office.

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According to a Bundestag statement: "The coalition parliamentary groups have drawn consequences from the behavior of former chancellor and lobbyist Gerhard Schroeder in view of the Russian invasion of Ukraine….The office of the former chancellor shall be suspended."

Despite Russia's military actions in Ukraine, Schroeder has refused to resign from positions with Russian energy giants Rosneft and Gazprom. Scholz, a fellow Social Democrat Party member, has been publicly embarrassed by his successor's stance.

Already chairman of the board of directors of Russian oil giant Rosneft, Schroeder is set to join the supervisory board of gas giant Gazprom in June. Gazprom is behind the controversial Nord Stream 2 pipeline from Russia, which Scholz halted in an early response to the conflict in Ukraine.

Schroeder personally signed off on the first Nord Stream in his final weeks in office and heads the pipeline's shareholders' committee. The 78-year-old will continue to benefit from police protection and an $89,000 annual pension.

The German government also plans to amend the rules on official privileges accorded automatically to former chancellors. Future perks should only be given to those who exercise "continuing responsibility towards their office," said a statement.

Separately, European Union lawmakers called for sanctions against Schroeder other Europeans who refuse to give up lucrative board seats at Russian companies, in a non-binding resolution.