The Hague of the Netherlands asks the EU to make an exception to the sanctions against Russia, because they did not find a gas supplier there

The Dutch city of The Hague is asking the European Union to make an exception to the sanctions imposed against Russia. They did not have time to find an alternative gas supplier there.

Reuters writes about it.

The municipality of The Hague signed a long-term contract with the Russian company “Gazprom” for the supply of gas. However, the sanctions order governments and other state bodies to terminate contracts signed with Russian companies by October 10.

Because of this, The Hague held a pan-European tender in June and July, but was unable to find a potential gas supplier. In this regard, the city will ask to make an exception for the current agreement with the Russian Federation until January 1, 2023.

"To guarantee security of supply and facilitate negotiations," the local authorities stated in a statement.

As Saskia Bruyn, a member of The Hague Municipal Council, said, the postponement will be granted because the city fulfilled the condition of holding the tender, albeit without a positive result.

• Since June 16, “Gazprom” has reduced supplies of the “Nord Stream” gas pipeline to 40% of the nominal capacity, explaining this by the fact that Canada, due to sanctions, did not return the turbine needed for the gas pipeline. Canada made an exception to the sanctions against Russia, repaired the turbine and sent it to Germany, but Russia has not yet taken it back. Against this background, Russiaʼs “Gazprom” reduced the supply of gas through “Nord Stream” to 20% of the pipeʼs capacity.