Too hesitant, too slow. The cabinet has received a lot of criticism in recent days for the way in which the Netherlands imposes sanctions on Russia. This weekend, the call for firm coordination only grew louder after the worldwide horror over the images of bodies on the streets in the Ukrainian city of Butya.
In response to this criticism, the cabinet decided to appoint a coordinator to implement the sanctions. This must ensure coordination between all ministries involved and ‘appeal and encourage’. On Monday afternoon, Minister Wopke Hoekstra (Foreign Affairs, CDA) announced that former Minister Stef Blok (VVD) will take on this role.
Blok (57) has been a confidant of Prime Minister Rutte for many years, who often called on him for difficult political (draft) jobs. Blok became Minister of Foreign Affairs in March 2018 in the Rutte III cabinet after the resignation of fellow party member Halbe Zijlstra. In the last (outgoing) government year, Blok switched to Economic Affairs after Eric Wiebes stepped down. Blok started in Rutte II as Minister for Housing and the Civil Service and ended up in Security & Justice (after the premature resignation of Ard van der Steur).
Fragmented measures
The fact that Blok knows his way around so many departments in The Hague will come in handy in his new task. The various sanctions against Russia are very fragmented. For example, the freezing of bank assets runs through Finance, the chaining of luxury yachts through Infrastructure and Water Management and the confiscation of real estate through the Interior.
While Blok in general enjoys a lot of authority and trust in The Hague, both among MPs and civil servants, opposition parties in the House of Representatives are skeptical about the appointment. JA21 would rather see someone else. “Prime Minister Rutte should have attracted this, of course,” says Member of Parliament Derk Jan Eppink. „Everything around Ukraine is now chefsache become.” GroenLinks leader Jesse Klaver doubted on Twitter the power of the cabinet. In addition to Blok, a director has also been appointed for an ‘interdepartmental task group’, which in turn has to work on behalf of a ‘government-wide steering group’.
Loathing about Butsha
Members of parliament expressed their horror on Twitter last weekend at the images of the streets of the Ukrainian city of Butja strewn with corpses of (apparently) civilians. “The Z of the Russian army stands for Weak, Sick and Soulless,” wrote VVD MP Ruben Brekelmans. “Heartbreaking,” said Gert-Jan Segers (ChristenUnie). Lilianne Ploumen (PvdA) called Putin a war criminal.
Nevertheless, the groups maintain their position that NATO should not intervene militarily in Ukraine, according to a tour. “The chance of further escalation is too great,” says Brekelmans. “Then we only get to see more horrific images.” Don Ceder of the ChristenUnie points to the same risk. “We must remain committed to supplying arms to Ukraine and implementing the sanctions imposed on Russia.”
Opposition party PvdA is also against military retaliation against Russia, says MP Kati Piri. “Military intervention would make the war even bigger and inflict even more casualties. In all other areas where we can hit Russia, we have to do the maximum.”
MPs are highly critical of the implementation of those sanctions by the cabinet, it emerged last Thursday during a parliamentary debate on the Ukraine war, after President Zelensky’s speech to parliament. The implementation of some sanctions is faltering. The Netherlands, for example, is far behind other European countries when it comes to seizures.
For example, Minister Hoekstra said that it is difficult to make an inventory of Russian capital and real estate in the Netherlands, partly because of privacy legislation. The House felt that the cabinet was too distracted by practical obstacles.
Boycott Russian gas
The current sanctions are still far from being effectively implemented. Nevertheless, some parties in the House of Representatives are pushing for more sanctions against Russia. Groups of PvdA, GroenLinks and Party for the Animals, for example, want the Netherlands to stop importing Russian gas and other energy supplies. “We should not continue to contribute to prolong the war in Ukraine,” said PvdA MP Piri. According to her, the purchase of Russian energy yields Putin’s war chest of 600 million euros a day.
According to the Piri, the heinous crimes in Butsha are „really a game changer in this war. We have seen looting and rape before, now we are talking about executions. From a political point of view, that requires a strong response.”
Although an energy boycott is difficult for other European member states, the Netherlands must be prepared to take the first step, according to the PvdA. “Just like with arms deliveries, you can’t wait for others. We have to lead the way.”
On Tuesday afternoon, the House of Representatives will vote on a motion that the Party for the Animals submitted last week to “proclaim an immediate boycott for the import of Russian oil, coal and gas”.
The ruling party VVD is against this. MP Brekelmans believes that “we as the EU should make agreements about this”. “Otherwise it is less effective. As a VVD, we want to quickly reduce our dependence on Russian gas.”
According to Brekelmans, pressure must be exerted, for example through the United Nations, on countries that are now “on the wrong side of history” to also impose sanctions on Russia. He cites India as an example. “If those countries do not move along, we think it is an option to also impose sanctions on them, but these should also be imposed in consultation with the EU.”
Also read: ‘The Netherlands is too lax with sanctions’