Vox: How MH17 is affecting Europe’s Russia policy
The Netherlands is not a geopolitical powerhouse, but they do have two interests that bear directly on Russia-EU relations. One is that the Netherlands is a major tax haven for Russian oligarchs, and a center for activity verging on money laundering that has the ability to hit influential Russians in the pocketbook. The other is that the Netherlands is home to a large and currently underutilized terminal for importing liquid natural gas. If EU-Russian relations deteriorated sufficiently to halt Russian exports of gas to Europe, the Dutch terminal would be the big winner.