After pressure from the opposition in Parliament and within his own Labour Party, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre finally both restored and boosted aid to Ukraine on Tuesday. The new amount doubles what his government had offered in its proposed state budget for 2025.
Støre and Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum of the Center Party had initially cut aid to Ukraine by nearly half, from NOK 27 billion this year to just NOK 15 billion for next year. Støre stressed that his Labour-Center government already has donated billions of kroner to Ukraine since it was invaded by Russia in February 2022 and has ranked as among the largest donors internationally.
As other countries boosted their support for Ukraine, however, Norway’s tapered off. It now ranks as donating the least among the Nordic countries even though, as newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) has pointed out, Norway is the wealthiest country of them all and has profited enormously on gas sales to Europe after gas from Russia was cut off.
Støre’s initial state budget proposal was met by strong criticism from all sides, because a vast majority of Norwegians strongly support both military and humanitarian aid to the war-torn country. Ukraine is widely viewed as fighting not just for itself but for freedom and democracy in all of Europe.
That’s why confusion and concern arose when the government’s initial budget indicated a major cut in aid to Ukraine. DN reported last week that several Labour Party politicians also criticized their own government in a closed meeting for not giving enough money to Ukraine, which is currently under new assault by the Russians.
Norway’s largest party in opposition, the Conservatives, had also blasted the Støre’s budget proposal for next year and countered by calling for a tripling of support for Ukraine, to NOK 45 billion in 2025. The Conservatives want to not only provide military equipment from Norway but also to help make the Ukrainians able to produce their own ammunition, weapons systems and drones.
The non-socialist Liberal Party, which has earlier shared government power with the Conservatives, also has been a strong proponent of more aid to Ukraine. After news broke that North Korea had sent soldiers to aid the Russians against Ukraine, Liberal leaders told newspaper Aftenposten they would consider calls for 10 times Norway’s current amount of annual support. Norway has the money in its huge sovereign wealth fund, and it may be especially needed if the new administration in the US decides to cut funding to Ukraine.
The right-wing Progress Party also backs more support for Ukraine but hasn’t specified amounts. “We will discuss this in our parliamentary delegaton, with the proposal the government has now given us,” Progress Party leader Sylvi Listhaug told state broadcaster NRK on Tuesday. She seems most worried about control of the funding, though, claiming that “Ukraine is the next-most corrupt land in Europe after Russia. Therefore it’s extremely important that we monitor where the money will go.”
Labour’s delegation in Parliament, meanwhile, feared the opposition would take the lead on the issue, with much of the voters behind them, according to public opinion polls. DN reported that several top Labour politicians thought Støre and his government were being too passive, unclear and would lose control of the issue. DN and other Norwegian newspapers have also editorialized in favour of giving Ukraine all the support it needs, as long as funding is monitored to fend off any corruption.
“That Norway of all countries, which has had enormous amounts of extra revenue on the sales of gas during this war, would be stingy is extra shameful,” editorialized DN.
Støre and his foreign minister, Espen Barth Eide, have claimed more support would come, calling the NOK 15 billion in their budget “a floor, not a ceiling.” That set off more claims that they were clumsy in handling the issue, and unnecessarily drew more criticism. Others had earlier warned of a “budget bluff.”
On Tuesday, after a meeting with the opposition in Parliament, the government finally proposed giving Ukraine at least NOK 30 billion next year, doubling its initial proposal plus around 10 percent. Støre acknowledged that the “situation” in Ukraine has become “more serious,” and he wants Norway “to be clear and at the forefront in its support for the resistance battle” Ukraine is in.
His lack of clarity after 1,000 days of Russia’s war on Ukraine remains baffling, and another example of why his government keeps getting into trouble or even creates trouble for itself. Now, however, Støre also is promising that in addition to supporting Ukraine’s defense forces, the government wants to earmark funding to secure and build up Ukraine’s electricity supplies and other power sources. The Russians have recently resumed bombing power plants in Ukraine just as winter sets in, in an apparent attempt to make life even more difficult for Ukrainian civilians.
Norway can now also avoid being embarrassed at an upcoming meeting of Nordic and Baltic prime minister in Stockholm. The Polish prime minister will also take part and Støre knows that support for Ukraine will be high on the agenda.
NewsinEnglish.no/Nina Berglund
