Norway urged to tap €1.8tn fund to help EU unlock Ukraine loan

Calls are mounting for Norway to use its €1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund to help move forward the EU’s stalled €140 billion loan for Ukraine, after a Danish newspaper revived a once far-fetched idea during last month’s EU leaders’ meeting.

Five Norwegian political parties, including three backing Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s next government, have now urged Oslo to step in to overcome Belgium’s concerns about using immobilised Russian sovereign assets to fund a €140 billion reparation loan to Kyiv.

EU leaders discussed the issue on 23 October at a summit in Brussels, without reaching an agreement, as Belgium insists that other EU countries must share the legal and financial risks associated with the plan before it agrees to proceed. The assets are held by Euroclear, a Brussels-based clearing house.

Last week, Støre ordered a “full review” of Norway’s possible involvement.

Oil-rich Norway is sitting on the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund, worth €1.8 trillion, including an estimated €109 billion earned from soaring gas prices in 2022 and 2023 following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“We are paying close attention and are continuing our dialogue with EU colleagues,” state secretary at the Norwegian finance ministry, Ellen Reitan, told Euractiv.

The comments come as EU countries are eyeing Russian frozen assets rather than their own budgets to meet Kyiv’s financial needs, which the International Monetary Fund estimates are around €55 billion for the next two years.

Brussels intends to present options to finance Ukraine’s needs but will “intensify discussions with like-minded partners and allies … at a later stage”, a European Commission spokesperson told Euractiv.

Politiken activism

The push for Norway’s involvement, however, did not originate in Brussels or Oslo but in Copenhagen.

As EU leaders gathered in Brussels to discuss the loan on 23 October, Politiken published an interview with two Norwegian economists urging their country to use its vast wealth and triple-A credit rating to break the impasse.

“That would be great,” said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen when a Politiken reporter asked her about it some hours later in Brussels, but added that she hadn’t heard anything suggesting Oslo was considering the idea.

The same reporter later asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy whether he had discussed the proposal with the Norwegian leader Støre during their meeting earlier that week.

“I spoke with Jonas mostly about gas,” Zelenskyy said, seeming confused. Both exchanges were picked up by Politico and Norwegian media, prompting smaller Norwegian parties to jump on the peripheral idea.

There is still no sign that Norway will take a leading role in the stalled loan plan, though it could join as one of several backers. “Norwegian conservatives are positive, but this should happen together with EU countries,” former foreign minister Ine Eriksen Søreide said.

Politiken did not respond to Euractiv’s request for comment.

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