MOSCOW (AP) — Russian news agencies are reporting that former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder has joined the board of Russian state oil giant Rosneft.

Schroeder's intent to join the Rosneft board had drawn criticism from his successor as chancellor, Angela Merkel, and from Martin Schulz, the leader of Schroeder's center-left Social Democrats.

Rosneft CEO Igor Sechin, a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, told Russian agency Interfax on Friday that Schroeder's arrival will "allow the development of the company's European business and the expansion of its European footprint."

Schroeder has previously said he wants to increase the energy security of Germany and Europe.

Schroeder is already the head of the shareholders' committee for Nord Stream, a pipeline transporting gas from Russia to Germany that is majority-owned by Russian state gas company Gazprom.