· Published in Investigations

The Ukraine War and its Consequences

We collect on this page articles by ENCO partners and other articles of interest relating to the ongoing war in Ukraine and its consequences, including the role of Western corporations.

Russian corporations & oligarchs

  • At least sixteen Gazprom subsidiaries in the Netherlands, by Somo
    The largest gas company in the world, Gazprom, has at least sixteen Dutch subsidiaries in Amsterdam, SOMO-research finds. The Russian state-owned company falls outside the current sanction rules, which means that Gazprom’s Dutch letterbox companies remain an important source of income for Putin. The report also looks into the legal and business service providers that make this construction possible in the Netherlands.
  • Enabling Putin’s war: The ties between Amsterdam’s financial centre and Gazprom, by Somo
    This briefing focuses on Gazprom’s business activities in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, which are serviced by a range of accountancy and law firms. As the world’s largest gas producer, majority state-owned Gazprom is generally considered the most lucrative jewel in Putin’s crown. The offshore financial center of Amsterdam, meanwhile, functions as the world’s largest “conduit” tax haven i.e. the world’s prime intermediary gateway for global capital, attracting multinational corporations that operate out of its financial centre.
  • Enabling Putin: The firms that helped Gazprom grow, by Corporate Watch
    As the spotlight shines on Russian oligarchs and their mansions, it’s important not to forget the multinational network of facilitators who have been pumping money into Russian companies for years – and making huge profits as a result. Many of these banks, lawyers and investors have expressed their shock at the invasion of Ukraine. None have said they will pay compensation to the Ukrainian people for the profits they have made from Putin’s petrostate. And these same firms continue to invest in other repressive, war-mongering regimes around the world. In this article, we look at Gazprom’s network of facilitators – its bankers, advisers, shareholders and lawyers – who remain unaccountable for years of profiteering.

Also of interest:

  • Les amitiés brut du Kremlin, by Public Eye
    La Russie a construit sa puissance sur le Roi carbone. Par temps orageux ou caniculaire, les sociétés pétrolières d’État de Moscou ont pu compter sur le soutien indéfectible des maisons de négoce basées en Suisse. Que ce soit pour leur apporter un ballon d’oxygène financier ou les accompagner dans une périlleuse conquête des hydrocarbures de l’Arctique. Les recherches de Public Eye montrent que, malgré la pression internationale croissante, les négociants basés en Suisse ont encaissé depuis les ports russes pas moins de 80,5 millions de barils de pétrole en février et mars.

The War in Ukraine & the Energy Sector

  • Un gasdotto Italia-Spagna non risolverà i problemi energetici dell’Europa, by ReCommon
    Livorno è il terzo porto commerciale italiano, dopo Trieste e Genova. Il commercio è fluito attraverso le sue banchine per centinaia di anni, da un’industria della pesca di lunga data alle più recenti navi da crociera che trasportano migliaia di turisti. Tuttavia, una nuova industria potrebbe arrivare alle porte della città.
  • L’influence démesurée des majors gazières sur l’UE depuis le début de la guerre en Ukraine, by Observatoire des multinationales
    La flambée des prix de l’énergie qui a suivi l’invasion de l’Ukraine et les sanctions occidentales contre la Russie, s’ajoutant aux difficultés de l’après-Covid, s’est transformée en une véritable crise du coût de la vie. Malheureusement, ce qui aurait dû être pour les dirigeants de l’UE une prise de conscience tardive des dangers de notre dépendance à l’égard du pétrole et du gaz, des marchés mondiaux et des multinationales du secteur s’est traduit par un nouveau renforcement de l’influence de l’industrie des énergies fossiles sur les politiques de l’UE.
  • Finance goes to war: Intesa Sanpaolo between Russian fossil industry and US gas, by ReCommon
    Three months after the date that disrupted the lives of millions of people in Europe and the rest of the world by kicking off a new spiral of violence in Ukraine and repression in the Russian Federation, ReCommon publishes the report ‘Finance goes to war: Intesa Sanpaolo between Russia’s fossil industry and US gas’.
  • Webinar, by ODG
    El proper dimarts 29 de març organitzem una xerrada online en directe per abordar algunes de les causes i conseqüències energètiques i econòmiques de la guerra a Ucraïna
  • Le scelte dell’Eni sul gas ci consegnano alla Russia, by ReCommon
    Il racconto italiano della guerra in corso in Ucraina è stato accompagnato, sin dall’inizio, da quello sulla “crisi energetica”. Dopo averci ripetuto fino allo sfinimento che, grazie alla realizzazione del nuovo gasdotto TAP, costato 4,5 miliardi, il nostro sistema energetico era ormai al sicuro, la classe politica italiana si è improvvisamente accorta che dipendere per circa la metà del gas che consumiamo dalla Russia di Putin sia un problema. E così ora si cerca frettolosamente di correre ai ripari, cavalcando le stesse ricette che ci hanno portati nella situazione attuale.

Corporate Lobbying in the Context of the Ukraine War

  • Ukraine crisis, , by Corporate Europe Observatory
    – The terrible events unfolding in Ukraine as a result of Putin’s invasion mean suffering and misery for millions. The ramifications will not just be felt in Ukraine and Russia, but across Europe and the globe for years to come. Already corporate lobbyists have used the war to roll back very urgent steps to implement the the EU Farm to Fork Strategy, while also promoting new fossil fuel projects in Europe and around the world. Below Corporate Europe Observatory brings you its latest analysis on lobbying and the Ukraine crisis, from energy and agriculture policy, to tracking the corporate opportunists and their lobby demands, and Putin’s support for the far-right across Europe. We also revisit our previous work to show the context of the crisis and to draw lessons for the future.
  • Why Europe can’t break free from the gas lobby, by Corporate Europe Observatory
    The invasion of Ukraine has exposed Europe’s dependency on Russian oil and gas. Its imports are directly funding Putin’s war efforts, to the tune of €20 billion in March alone. The EU’s response – driven by a mix of concerns over energy insecurity, price rises and domestic political instability, and the need to defang the Russian war machine – has been to double-down on gas from other sources and promote other fossil fuel industry-proposed alternatives.
  • EU Watchdog Radio 32 : Hooked on Gas - EU & the Ukraine War, by Corporate Europe Observatory and Counter-Balance
    In this episode of EU Watchdog Radio, we talk about the EU’s dependency on gas, what energy poverty is and in what way it is linked to the Ukraine war. We also discuss the energy alternatives the EU is considering, and what really needs to happen.
  • Agribusiness lobby against EU Farm to Fork strategy amplified by Ukraine war, by Corporate Europe Observatory
    The pesticide industry lobby group CropLife Europe (CLE) and their allies have staged an immense and well-resourced lobby campaign against the flagship-policy of the EU: the Farm to Fork and Biodiversity strategy (both pillars of the EU Green Deal). On behalf of agrochemical multinationals, CropLife organised a fierce attack on the EU’s ambition to protect ecosystems and public health by reducing pesticide risk and use by 50% by 2030.
  • EU Watchdog Radio 31: Ukraine war, food crisis and a toxic lobby, by Corporate Europe Observatory and Counter-Balance
    A toxic lobby amplified by conservative politicians was very quick to start, calling for increased food production due to the Ukraine war. And thus they called for the need of more fertilisers and pesticides as they wrongfully think that this is the only way the produce enough healthy food, whereas in fact their lobby is just about defending a billion Euro agrochemical business model, at the expense of exosystems, farmers and the health of people alike.
  • A Twitter Thread by Corporate Europe Observatory on how lobbying firms have facilitated Russia’s soft power in the EU
    "Most lobby firms won’t touch the #Kremlin w/ a bargepole NOW, but for decades the EU’s weak rules have allowed Putin ’s hired guns to lobby in Brussels with 0 ethical concerns and near-0 reporting requirements."

The Arms Industry and the Militarisation of Europe

  • Fanning the Flames. How the European Union is fuelling a new arms race, by the Transnational Institute
    The European Defence Fund (EDF) and its precursor programmes explicitly aim to strengthening the ‘global competitiveness’ of the technological industrial base of European defence. There is a major disconnect between such technologies and their potential impact beyond the profits they will generate. They will inevitably boost European arms exports and fuel the global arms race, which will in turn lead to more armed conflicts and wars, greater destruction, significant loss of life, and increased forced displacement.

After the war

  • Ukraine War: Can EU public finance help the rebuild?, by Corporate Europe Observatory
    In the latest episode of EU Watchdog Radio, we discuss how EU public finance institutions like the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) should approach the rebuilding of Ukraine after the war comes to an end.

Images: map by Wikimedia Commons (CC), photo by Lewin Bormann (CC by-sa)