The Dutch parliament on Oct. 6 approved a motion calling on the Cabinet to "substantially lower" gas production from the country's large Groningen gas field for safety reasons.

The government has curtailed production from the field, Europe's largest, twice this year after it was censured by public safety authorities for not taking the threat of production-linked earthquakes seriously enough.

The motion was submitted by opposition parties, but endorsed by the Labour party, the junior partner in Prime Minister Mark Rutte's centrist coalition.