A majority of the House of Representatives wants the sanctions to “make a raid very expensive for Putin”, as D66 MP Sjoerdsma said. Russia would then have to be cut off from the international banking system Swift and the gas pipeline project Nord Stream 2 should not be used by a majority of the House.
Hoekstra did not want to anticipate the sanction package yet, but does not rule out keeping Nord Stream 2 closed in advance. It’s not easy, he says.
“Forty percent of European gas comes from Russia, you can’t just replace that,” said Hoekstra. “And that’s extremely inconvenient when you criticize a country for its troop movements and aggressive language.”
It will not be easy to get all EU countries to endorse the same sanctions package, Hoekstra predicts. Not all countries think alike about Russia’s aggressive stance and what to do about it. Economic sanctions, such as a blockade of the banking system, can also have negative consequences for the economies of EU countries themselves.
NATO is deeply concerned about Russian troop build-up on Ukraine’s border. But according to Putin, NATO itself is wrong. How does he view Eastern Europe?
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