Honorary consul of Ukraine Karel Burger Dirven from Den Bosch finds it unacceptable that Bavaria beer is still available on the Russian market. Last June, Bavaria showed in the TV program KRAAK. know from Omroep Brabant that they want to stop the licenses in Russia. That also happened, but the beer is still for sale. “It is a moral obligation for companies to leave Russia,” says Burger Dirven. “Bavaria is financing Russia’s war.”
The honorary consul of Ukraine lives in Den Bosch and since the invasion by Russia, together with the Ukrainian embassy, he has been working non-stop on the war and everything related to it in the Netherlands. He is angry about the attitude of the Lieshout brewery.
“In Russia, beer is still available in supermarkets and online. There are countless companies, from McDonald’s to DHL, that simply stop doing business with Russia. Soon, after the war, those companies in Ukraine will be welcomed with open arms to make their investments. I don’t see that happening with Bavaria.”
“We have expressed our disgust at the Russian aggression in Ukraine”
Swinkels Family Brewers, to which Bavaria belongs, strongly distances itself from the words of the honorary consul. “From the first moment of the war, we have expressed our horror at the Russian presence and aggression in Ukraine,” the company said in a statement. “If we bought out the license, we would have to transfer a lot of money to Russia. This goes against the spirit of the sanctions legislation. Because we did not want to earn money with our license contract in Russia, we decided to release the income from this contract for charities in Ukraine. We are also trying to help Ukraine in other ways,” said Bavaria’s statement.
“Is Bavaria about morality or about money? Well, clearly about the latter.”
The honorary consul maintains his criticism of the brewer. “Because a brewery in Moscow can brew Bavarian beer, money is made in Russia with this beer and the state treasury is financed through taxes, including the war. I think Bavaria hopes that the war will be over soon and that they will be able to maintain their market position in Russia. Does Bavaria care about morality or about money? Well obviously for the latter.”
The beer brewer from Lieshout is not the only one whose products are still available in Russia. De Volkskrant published this week’s list of other companies that apparently find it difficult to cut ties, including Philips.