By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted 2 hours ago, Updated 2 hours ago
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre visits Equinor’s LNG plant in Melkoeya near Hammerfest on January 31, 2023. Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB / AFP
Thanks to the multiplied gas revenues from the Ukraine conflict, Norway is not a “war profiteer”, defended its prime minister in an interview with AFP on Wednesday a few days before a new aid plan in Kyiv.
Questioned in the Norwegian Arctic after visiting a gas liquefaction plant near Hammerfest, Jonas Gahr Støre dismissed accusations from those who want Oslo to do more for Ukrainians and suggested his country would soon become one of the first donors .
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“Norway is in full swing”
“That’s an idea that I categorically reject,” says the prime minister. His government intends to present a “multi-year aid package” in favor of Ukraine and poorer countries affected by the consequences of the war, such as rising grain prices.
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This plan “will help them maintain their civilian infrastructure, hopefully one day rebuild a free Ukraine, and at the same time provide them with military support,” stressed the head of government. The exact quantity and content will be announced “early February”.
It is wrong to claim that his country is profiting inappropriately from the war in Ukraine, as the Polish Prime Minister in particular has argued. Norway has been working hard to offset the collapse in Russian gas supplies to Europe since last year, the prime minister said. It has emerged as its leading supplier, increasing its exports by 8 to 10%, helping the continent spend the winter warm.
budget surplus
It fills its coffers on the side: This year the government is forecasting a record budget surplus of 1.127 billion kroner (104 billion euros), driven by rising oil and gas revenues. A sum that will complement the country’s sovereign wealth fund, which is already the largest in the world with assets of more than 13,400 billion kronor.
“For 50 years Norway has explored and exploited energy resources, oil and gas at its own risk,” argued Jonas Støre. “Norway does not set the prices.”
The rise in gas prices, the Norwegian leader points out, is also reflected in rising electricity bills for Norwegian families and businesses, “which is a big challenge for us politically” in a country that is spinning, heating up and moving far towards electricity .
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