Reuters: The Hague will ask for permission to temporarily not comply with sanctions against Russia

The Dutch city of The Hague will ask for permission to temporarily not comply with European sanctions against Russia, as it cannot yet find a replacement for gas supplier Gazprom. About it writes Reuters, citing a letter from municipality member Saskia Bryins to the city council.

The sanctions imposed by the EU against Russia after the start of the special operation in Ukraine order European governments and other state bodies to terminate contracts with Russian companies no later than October 10, 2022. It is noted that in search of a new energy supplier, The Hague held two tenders (in June and July), but never got a single offer.

“We will ask for an exception to our current agreement by January 1, 2023, to ensure the security of supply and facilitate negotiations,” Bruins said.

She expressed confidence that negotiations with potential suppliers would still lead to an agreement. At the same time, Bruins acknowledged that any new contract that will enter into force on January 1 will be significantly more expensive than the current agreement with Gazprom.

After the start of the special operation in Ukraine, Western countries imposed large-scale sanctions against Russia, which, among other things, affected the supply of energy resources. So, in early June, the EU introduced a partial embargo on Russian oil, and on August 10, an embargo on the purchase of coal from Russia began to operate. European countries are also looking for a way to abandon Russian gas.

Against the backdrop of anti-Russian sanctions and the reduction of energy supplies by Gazprom, the cost of gas in Europe began to grow. On August 22, the exchange price of gas exceeded $3,000 per thousand cubic meters. m for the first time since March 8. Two days later, the price of the September futures crossed the $3,100 mark, and on August 25, it crossed $3,300.

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