Netherlands ignored EU sanctions to block Russian internet traffic

After Russia invaded Ukraine, the Netherlands ignored questions from the European Union about blocking Russian internet traffic for months. From September 2022, the European Commission repeatedly asked the Netherlands whether internet providers in Russian-occupied areas in Ukraine should not be blocked based on international sanctions. The Netherlands decided in the negative over a year after the invasion, Trouw reports based on research from Investico and internal emails from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs obtained through the Open Government Act (Woo).

Ripe NCC is a Dutch organization that manages the internet in 76 countries, including Russia and Ukraine. With a registration at Ripe, a company can provide internet to companies, organizations, and citizens. Shortly after the invasion, Ukraine asked whether Ripe was allowed to keep doing so to parties operating in occupied territories.

Because Ripe is located in the Netherlands, the Dutch government must ultimately decide on this - it is up to national authorities how they implement European sanctions. So, the European Commission passed Ukraine’s questions on to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But the Dutch officials failed to provide clarity for a year, replying to further questions and prompting from the Commission with emails saying they had “no update” and were “waiting for answers.” More than a year after the outbreak of the war, the Netherlands finally decided that Ripe was exempt from the sanctions and could continue to provide services to Russia and in occupied areas.

When asked about the matter, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs only told Trouw that the decision-making process took longer “than desired in these types of cases, which was partly due to the requesting of certain information and plans for subsequent discussions.”