Coal mine. Photo credit: Bence Balla-Schottner
Pragmatic patriots push back on EU sanctions
It appears that EU sanctions, which increasingly boomerang against Europeans, have not been not set in stone. While some politicians make a dogma out of it, other EU countries counteract the Brussels edicts.
Published: November 4, 2022, 6:59 am
Brussels
The Dutch government, it has now been leaked, officially supports the sanctions – but makes numerous exceptions. It confirmed a total of 91 exemptions from the sanctions regime, thereby benefiting Dutch companies. The Dutch television news service RTL Nieuws researched this after talks with the various ministries.
The exceptions relate to numerous domestic companies, whose names the ministries keep secret. They also remain silent about the value of transactions exempt from sanctions and which sectors of the economy are affected.
The ministries can grant exemptions from the sanctions to “allow some flexibility in certain cases,” said the spokesman for the foreign ministry. The list of Dutch special regulations is long. In April, the EU banned Russian-flagged ships from calling at European ports. However, the Ministry of Infrastructure granted 34 ships an exemption to call at Dutch ports, for example, because they were transporting important goods such as aluminum and food.
“Diplomatic ties” were given as the reason for the State Department granting an exemption, the channel reports. In individual cases, transactions involving Russian banks majority-owned by the state were approved. The Ministry of Finance also granted 13 exemptions related to frozen assets or goods falling under the sanctions regime.
The Ministry of Climate and Energy, which is part of the Ministry of Economy, granted a further 25 exemptions to Dutch organizations, which as a result continue to source energy from Russia.
The exemptions will benefit 150 businesses and organizations, including communities, schools and water boards, the ministry told the broadcaster. The Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, which reports to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, granted 18 exemptions for EU-Russia cooperation on “purely civilian matters” to 13 organizations on “humanitarian grounds”.
Pushback in Poland
Even in Poland, despite the Ukraine war, some groups have not lost sight of the obvious. The new leader of the right-wing KORWiN party, Sławomir Mentzen, has now called for an end to the embargo on Russian coal supplies. It doesn’t matter to consumers where the coal comes from.
In March, the PiS government imposed a ban on Russian coal imports as part of the sanctions following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which Mentzen has now criticized as a wrong step. “Just ask an old woman who has to freeze in winter whether she would heat with Russian coal or not. For this old lady who would be freezing in her small apartment, the origin of the coal would not make any difference,” said Mentzen.
If he had his way, he would not block coal imports into Poland “from anywhere”, including from Russia. Poland cannot wait for regulations to be passed at EU level. Until last spring, Russia was the largest exporter of coal to Poland. However, Poland is currently struggling with coal shortages and high prices as a result of the import embargo.
The KORWiN party was founded in 2015 by a group of right-wing, Eurosceptic Polish politicians. It was named after former MEP Janusz Korwin-Mikke, who was one of the founders of the party and repeatedly made headlines in the EU Parliament with his interventions. Mentzen was elected the party’s new leader on Monday, replacing Korwin-Mikke.
All rights reserved. You have permission to quote freely from the articles provided that the source (www.freewestmedia.com) is given. Photos may not be used without our consent.
Consider donating to support our work
Help us to produce more articles like this. FreeWestMedia is depending on donations from our readers to keep going. With your help, we expose the mainstream fake news agenda.
Keep your language polite. Readers from many different countries visit and contribute to Free West Media and we must therefore obey the rules in, for example, Germany. Illegal content will be deleted.
If you have been approved to post comments without preview from FWM, you are responsible for violations of any law. This means that FWM may be forced to cooperate with authorities in a possible crime investigation.
If your comments are subject to preview by FWM, please be patient. We continually review comments but depending on the time of day it can take up to several hours before your comment is reviewed.
We reserve the right to delete comments that are offensive, contain slander or foul language, or are irrelevant to the discussion.
Europe
New App Helps Locate Sweden’s Historic Runestones
A new app called Swedish Runestones will help locate historical gems.
Swedish military wants to remilitarize the Åland Islands
The demilitarized autonomy has previously been known as 'the islands of peace.
NOAA Predicts Zero Sunspots for Almost the Whole 2030s
CLIMATEThe United States' government scientific organization, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), predicts zero sunspots from 2031 to 2040. This is an extreme situation that has not occurred in as long as humanity has been counting sunspots, and it leads us into uncharted territory in terms of our solar system. However, this prediction aligns with the warnings of the world-renowned solar researcher Valentina Zharkova for many years, who indicated in 2019 various signs of this catastrophic phenomenon, including the extreme hailstorms we have seen in Europe and the world this summer. The forecast and various observations this year give cause for very significant concern. In this unique analysis, Free West Media explains why.
European Nationalist Parties Forge Cooperation Ahead of EU Elections
EUROPEAN ELECTIONSOn Saturday, August 26, representatives of six European nationalist parties gathered in Budapest. The meeting was initiated by the Hungarian party Mi Hazánk and took place in the national parliament. Representatives of the parties signed a joint declaration that not only reaffirms the parties' friendship but also their unity on a range of complex political issues. A surprisingly clear and radical manifesto was established. The hope is that this cooperation will lead to success in the EU elections and eventually result in the formation of a group in the European Parliament. For Swedish nationalism, this meeting marks a success as Sweden, for the first time, has a party represented in a leading nationalist cooperation in Europe. Free West Media was present at this historic event.
Turkey Believes Sweden Hasn’t Done Enough
Sweden will have to wait a bit longer for NATO membership, according to Turkey's Justice Minister Jilmaz Tunc. First, Sweden must extradite the "terrorists" Turkey wants and stop the desecration of the Quran.
Swedish Weapon Takes Down Russia’s Best Attack Helicopter
The Russian attack helicopter Ka-52 is considered one of the world's best and has struck fear in Ukraine, where it has hunted down tanks and other armored vehicles, often beyond the range of many light anti-aircraft systems. However, it has met its match in the Swedish air defense missile system RBS 70, which has quickly led to significant losses for the Russian helicopter forces.
The Sun Drives Earth’s Climate, Not Carbon Dioxide
Top Researchers Push Back Against Climate Lies."The correlation is as clear as day," explained the Israeli astrophysicist Nir Shaviv, who was hailed by the establishment, before his interview with Forbes was hastily deleted. What he says contradicts the climate narrative, which points to humans as responsible for Earth's climate. Shaviv firmly asserts that it is the sun that controls the climate, something that can be scientifically proven in many ways. Contrary to the popular belief, the sun's influence on Earth has, in recent years, caused unusually cold and rainy weather, a trend that solar researchers warn will worsen significantly in the coming decades. The sun has exhibited an unusually low activity since 2016, during Solar Cycle 24, which was the weakest in a century.
Strong Confidence in German AfD
Alternative for Germany (AfD) held a party conference on July 29-30 to select candidates for the upcoming EU election next year. EU Parliament member Maximilian Krah, belonging to the party's more radical, ethnonationalist faction, was appointed as the top candidate. The party's two spokespersons delivered powerful speeches criticizing the EU's failed migration policy and trade sanctions that isolate Europe and Germany from the rest of the world. They argued that it's time for the EU to return a significant portion of its power to national parliaments. However, they have dropped the demand for Germany to exit the EU.
The Establishment Wants to Ban Germany’s Second Largest Party – for the Sake of Democracy
The rising popularity of AfD has raised strong concerns within the establishment. Despite lies and demonization in the media and isolation from the overall political establishment, the party continues to grow. Certain representatives of the party are accused of becoming increasingly "extreme," and in an unusual move, the influential weekly newspaper Der Spiegel demanded that AfD be "banned."
Dutch FvD break through the media blockade
What is happening in the Netherlands? It is often difficult to follow events in other countries, especially when distorted by system media. We give Forum for Democracy (FvD) the opportunity to speak out on the political situation in the Netherlands and the staunch resistance they face in trying to save the country.
No comments.
By submitting a comment you grant Free West Media a perpetual license to reproduce your words and name/web site in attribution. Inappropriate and irrelevant comments will be removed at an admin’s discretion. Your email is used for verification purposes only, it will never be shared.