Calls are growing for Norway to use its €1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund to facilitate a blocked €140 billion EU loan for Ukraine after a Danish newspaper revived a once unrealistic idea at a meeting of EU leaders last month, Euractiv reports, writes UNN.
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Five Norwegian political parties, including three that support the next government of Labour Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, have called on Oslo to intervene to overcome Belgium's fears about using frozen Russian sovereign assets to finance a €140 billion "reparations loan" to Ukraine.
EU leaders discussed the issue on October 23 at a summit in Brussels but failed to reach an agreement, as Belgium insists that other EU countries must share the legal and financial risks associated with the plan before it agrees to its implementation. The assets are held by Euroclear, a clearing company headquartered in Brussels.
Last week, Støre ordered a "full review" of Norway's possible participation.
Oil-rich Norway has the world's largest sovereign wealth fund at its disposal, amounting to €1.8 trillion, including an estimated €109 billion received from the sharp rise in gas prices in 2022 and 2023 after Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
"We are closely monitoring the situation and continue dialogue with our EU colleagues," Norwegian Finance Ministry State Secretary Ellen Reitan told Euractiv.
These comments come as the EU considers Russian frozen assets, rather than its own budgets, to meet Ukraine's financial needs, which the International Monetary Fund estimates at around €55 billion for the next two years.
Brussels intends to present options for financing Ukraine's needs, but will "intensify talks with like-minded partners and allies... at a later stage," a European Commission official told Euractiv.
However, the initiative to involve Norway originated not in Brussels or Oslo, but in Copenhagen. When EU leaders gathered in Brussels on October 23 to discuss the loan, Politiken published an interview with two Norwegian economists who called on their country to use its immense wealth and AAA credit rating to break the deadlock.
"That would be great," said Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen when a Politiken reporter asked her about it a few hours later in Brussels, but added that she had not heard any indications that Oslo was considering the idea.
The same reporter later asked Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy whether he had discussed the proposal with Norwegian leader Støre during their meeting earlier that week.
"I spoke with Jonas mainly about gas," Zelenskyy said. Both conversations, as indicated, were picked up by Politico and Norwegian media, prompting small Norwegian parties to seize on this secondary idea.
There is no indication yet that Norway will take a leading role in the blocked lending plan, although it may join as one of several sponsors. "Norwegian conservatives are positive, but it must happen jointly with EU countries," said former Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide.