Introduction
Thomas Bareiß (born 15 February 1975 in Albstadt, Baden-Württemberg) is a German politician and member of the conservative CDU.
Political career
A business manager by profession, Bareiß has been a directly elected member of the Bundestag since 2005. In his first term between 2005 and 2009, he was a full member of the Committee on the Affairs of the European Union as well as of the Committee on Labor and Social Affairs. Since the 2009 elections, he has been serving on the Committee on Economic Affairs and Energy.
In the negotiations to form a Grand Coalition of Chancellor Angela Merkel's Christian Democrats (CDU together with the Bavarian CSU) and the Social Democrats (SPD) following the 2013 federal elections, Bareiß was part of the CDU/CSU delegation in the working group on energy policy, led by Peter Altmaier and Hannelore Kraft. Following the 2016 elections in Germany's important state of Baden-Württemberg, he was again part of the negotiations on a coalition government, this time of the CDU and the Green Party under Minister-President Winfried Kretschmann.
Political positions
Energy policy
In 2010, Bareiß worked to limit the growth in solar-panel installations in Germany as he saw the rising costs to consumers undermine the acceptance of alternative energy. In a letter to then-Environment Minister Norbert Röttgen, he demanded that the government cut the guaranteed gratuity per kilowatt hour for newly installed solar panels by an extra amount.
Amid a 2014 debate over whether Germany needs to rethink its energy strategy and reduce its dependence on Russian gas imports due to the Ukrainian crisis, Bareiß spoke out in favor of liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports and demanded an effective regulatory framework for a German LNG terminal.
European integration
On 27 January 2015, Bareiß voted against the Merkel government’s proposal for a four-month extension of Greece's bailout; in doing so, he joined a record number of 29 dissenters from the CDU/CSU parliamentary group who expressed skepticism about whether the Greek government under Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras could be trusted to deliver on its reform pledges.
Other activities
- Association of German Foundations, Member of the Parliamentary Advisory Board
- Deutsche Rockwool Mineralwoll GmbH & Co. OHG, Member of the Advisory Board
- Friends of the Beuron Archabbey, Member of the Executive Board
- German-Azerbaijani Forum, Member of the Board of Trustees
- Zukunft Erdgas initiative, Member of the Advisory Board