120 Dutch councils demand exemptions from implementing sanctions against Russia
High gas prices mean city councils in the Netherlands are struggling to find alternatives to Russian supplies and meet an EU deadline for governments and public bodies to quit existing contracts with Russian companies.
High energy prices mean new contracts will likely be more expensive. Eight councils’ requests for exemptions are already under review, Pieter ten Bruggencate, spokesperson for Dutch Energy Minister Rob Jetten, told EURACTIV.
Around 120 Dutch councils are still looking for an alternative energy supplier to Gazprom, according to DutchNews, although this number is yet to be confirmed by the government. Councils need to make the switch by 10 October to obey EU sanctions.
Among councils struggling to find a replacement is the Hague, which ran an EU-wide tender in June and July, but failed to attract bids, Reuters reported.
Exemptions from the sanctions would likely be allowed if no company bid on the tender or the council could provide evidence that they cannot financially support it, Bruggencate explained.
But on Friday (26 August), Jetten said he expected councils to stick to the deadline. “That is the price you have to pay for no longer filling the coffers of a warmongering dictator,” DutchNews reported him saying.
There was speculation as to whether councils with tenders with Gazprom Energy, now renamed Securing Energy for Europe (SEFE) and led by SEFE in Germany – formerly Gazprom Germania – would be able to continue with their supplier.
However, given the possibility that money could be channelled to Moscow and its war in Ukraine, the government wants councils to find alternatives.
“We know firsthand from both from the German government and also from SEFE themselves, that they still believe that some of the money, through complex ownership systems, could still be transferred to Russia,” said Bruggencate.
Moreover, 28 Estonian companies requested exemption from European sanctions against Russia in order to continue importing petroleum products from it.
https://www.euractiv.com/