CDA, D66 and GroenLinks MPs are calling for a boycott of coffee and tea company Douwe Egberts within the parliamentary complex because the Dutch firm continues to operate in Russia.

“This would appear to be a good reason to look at all the government’s coffee contracts again,’ CDA parliamentarian Derk Boswijk told the AD.

Boswijk was reacting to an interview with Fabien Simon, head of JDE Peets which owns the Dutch brand, in the The Wall Street Journal. JDE Peets is also officially headquartered in Amsterdam.

Simon told the WSJ that the company was renaming a major brand and rejigging supply chains but that it was staying put in Russia, despite the sanctions stemming from the war in Ukraine.

Tea and coffee are essential supplies which the Russians should be able to buy, despite the invasion, he said. In addition, he said, the company adheres to all the international sanctions which have been implemented against Russia.

Violence

D66 MP Alexander Hammelburg told the AD it is “extremely painful” that Dutch companies are still trading in countries which have used such violence against Ukraine.

“If Russian consumers don’t notice what is happening and can continue to drink  good coffee from a western factory, then it is hardly surprising the war is continuing,” the AD quoted Boswijk as saying.

Every move which can be made to undermine public support for Putin should be taken, the CDA MP told the paper.

Heineken, Philips and Unilever had also been criticised for continuing to trade in Russia. Heineken has since put its Russian business up for sale.

In February, representatives from ING, Philips and JDE Peet’s appeared before a committee of MPs to explain why they were still operating in Russia, despite the sanctions.