Russian company asks EU Court of Justice to lift sanctions imposed over shipping of Siemens turbines to Crimea
The company Technopromexport has filed a lawsuit with the Court of Justice of the European Union demanding the removal of the sanctions which were placed on the company in connection with the shipment of Siemens turbines to the annexed Crimea, the Official Journal of the EU reported.
According to the journal entry, the company’s CEO Sergey Topor-Gilka, who was also placed on the EU sanctions list, has made a similar demand of the court.
In their requests, the claimants state that it has not yet been established in due judicial order that Technopromexport violated its contract with Siemens, because the Moscow Arbitration Court has not yet given its verdict, and the hearings are still underway.
Furthermore, the claimants believe that the evidence supporting the charges against the company comes from anonymous sources and reports in the media.
Additionally, the claimants state that according to international legislation, Russia is required to supply “safe and continuous” energy to the Crimean peninsula, and so there is also a humanitarian component to the case which was not taken into account when the EU decided to expand the scope of the sanctions.
As reported previously, Siemens filed a lawsuit against those involved in shipping its turbines to the annexed Crimea.
The respondents in the case are PLC Technopromexport, LLC Technopromexport and LLC Siemens Gas Turbines Technology (a joint enterprise between Siemens and the Russian company Power Machines).
The German concern claims to have received information from reliable sources that at least two of the four gas turbine installations which were supplied for a project in Taman ended up in Crimea. According to Siemens, this is a clear breach of the contracts, which prohibited the client from shipping equipment to the peninsula.
“As a result, Siemens has initiated criminal proceedings against the responsible entities. Furthermore, Siemens has filed lawsuits to stop any additional shipments to Crimea and to return the already delivered equipment to the original intended location – Taman,” said company spokesperson Wolfram Trost.
Earlier, turbines produced by the German concern Siemens were shipped to Crimea in circumvention of EU sanctions.