The Prime Minister's opening address at the conference “EU-Norway: Partners for European Security and Competitiveness”

Checked against delivery (transcribed)

Good afternoon,

It’s a pleasure to be here. The strong presence of Norwegian businesses today is a sign of strength, resilience, and ambition. And for me, it’s also a lot of nostalgia coming here – as always – because this is actually where I started my international career in 1990, when we negotiated the EEA Agreement. And we also had the process of negotiating (the EU) accession for Norway. – One was successful. The other one did not lead exactly to where we were heading.

Now, this is the Norway House. And I think it is a house of ambition. There are visions, there are companies, there are organizations around here; next door to the Commission, underlining the partnership.

Now, the EEA is 31 years old. We celebrated the 30 years last year. It is an agreement which has been, in itself, the solution to creating a bigger Internal market, with Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein on the inside, but also being the nucleus to put on other dimensions of cooperation, all the way to security and defense, as we concluded last summer.

Turbulent times

And now, as we live in very turbulent times, it is a very turbulent day, if you look out at the markets; we’ve come together to see how we can maintain cohesion in the European market when there is turbulence.

And as the Commission President told me today, Norway is and remains part of the Internal market. And that is our common ambition.

We are entering into what will be a new territory of international trading system now. And for Norway, it is both secure and also, what should I say, challenging, to do this together with the European Union, our close partner for so many years.

And – you know – I rally with great confidence the slogan that Europe must stand united on so many fronts.

The other part of my meeting with President von der Leyen today was on Ukraine. We stand united on that one as well, because so much is at stake when this war is ravaging.

Mutually interdependent

Two messages from me today:

Firstly, I believe – like in any good partnership – Europe needs Norway and Norway needs Europe. You know – at one stage – sometimes we have the discussion in Norway being the main provider of gas to Europe, with 30%. And that can be used as an illustration in a way – because some say – who is most dependent on whom? We export 100% of our gas to Europe. Europe buys 30-40% of their gas from Norway. Who is most dependent?

I think it's simply an illustration that this is mutual interdependence. And it binds us together and it's something that we stand around.

The fact that we could increase our energy export when Putin launched his war, was also an illustration of solidarity, pushing forward, to live up to that delivery.

The economies are deeply connected, and Norway is one of the most integrated member states of the Internal market. In a way, I think our trade is more integrated into Europe than many of the EU member states.

And we now also stand together in defense. In the face of growing geopolitical instability, we are enhancing Norwegian defense cooperation. And some of the world's most advanced companies in that respect are present here today, working closely with European partners, strengthening NATO and increasing our ability to deter and respond to Russia's aggression.

Secondly, though not a member of the EU – as I said – we are a key European partner. Let me say we are, in a way, an outsider on the inside, because we are part of the Internal market, bound by its rules, and also blessed by the opportunities. We are your closest partner on equal terms with the 27.

A small country?

Sometimes we say; because we are 5,5 million, that we are a small country.

When I was foreign minister, I said – you know – it depends on what we talk about. It is not that small in all senses. We are the 17th largest country in the world by area, if we add sea and seabed.

We have the world's second longest coastline, more than 100,000 kilometers. – And in that sense, illustrating, like Spain, that we are an ocean state. And that is, part and parcel of our land creation as well.

Some of our key industries are important in this sense:

Norway supplies more than 25% of the EU's seafood imports; 1,5 million tons annually. That is about 20 million seafood meals every single day.

On aluminum, Norwegian companies produce 40% of Europe's aluminum. Hydro alone delivers 34% of the aluminum used by Europe's car industry. And I often visit companies who deliver different spare parts for this industry.

And that is underlining, again, the danger which is happening now under the current tariffs, that this is breaking, fragmenting value chains, where everybody actually stands to lose.

Again, as I said, we supply more than 30% of Europe's natural gas. In countries like Germany and Poland, we are close to 50%. And we are a reliable partner, especially in these uncertain times.

So, looking ahead, I will conclude by highlighting some new and promising developments that demonstrate how Norwegian industries contribute to solving Europe's future challenges.

CCS

One is an area which was hard to believe and hard to explain to European partners for many years: Carbon capture and storage.

Can you take CO2 out of hard-to-abate industries or out of the oil and out of the gas, put it in a separate location, and store it under the seabed? For some time, it was argued – and I remember – from certain circles – that this is just a trick from the oil and energy producing countries to maintain their activity. And it doesn't work. I remember Al Gore, when he won the Peace Prize, he said it's dangerous and it will leak.

But we have done this since the 1990s and we know that it works. It is basically put 2,000 meters under the seabed and it stays. And it is one of the things that the world needs to do in order to reach the climate targets set in Paris.

In fact, I see no scientists, be they from natural sciences or law or political sciences, pointing to our delivery on those Paris obligations if we don't do carbon capture and storage.

We have done this. The Northern Lights project, a joint venture between Equinor, Shell and Total, shows the world that CCS works safely and effectively. This is now a complete value chain, a key to achieving the goals of the Paris agreement and the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal and part of our Green Alliance.

Circular economy

Then, within the circular economy, I think we also have some interesting examples to deliver. One is on the recirculation of used batteries in electric cars.

We have driven electric cars longer than most. And as these cars retire, what do we do with the batteries? Well, what we normally do with them when they are worn out, they are burnt. If temperatures are high enough, industrial discharge will go, everything will burn. But this is a terrible waste and a terrible pollution.

So, the company Hydrovolt, owned by Hydro, is using green tech recycling the batteries, recycling 95% of the batteries. And since we started with more electric cars than most others, many of those cars are to retire now. So, we have something to work on. And we can take that further, build new factories, and demonstrate how we can scale-up that.

Green shipping

Another sector represented here is green shipping, with leading companies; Norway has deployed nearly 100 electric ferries along its coastline over the years, in a combination of procurement ordered by government, local government, and an innovative industry.

And now, the world's first electric bulk carrier is under construction in China, by the way, with Norwegian technology inside. Its battery ranges 230 nautical miles, 30 times more than our longest ferry route.

And I was present at the launch of two of these car transporting ships in China before the end of last year; demonstrating again the value chains which are now being challenged. And the big lead towards ships powered by ammonia and hydrogen is gaining momentum. And we're proud to be part of this industry and in the green transition.

I'm happy to see that the Commission is also taking the message; that in the transition towards hydrogen, you’ll also need blue hydrogen on the way to a future of green hydrogen. And the fact that this is happening, I think, is also because Norway has been able to communicate the experience. We are proud to be part of this industry and this transition.

Defense industry

The final example, from defense innovation – some of the leading companies are here – during my last visit to Kyiv – when the alarm went, I could see and we could feel that the NASAMS air defense system from Kongsberg was vital to take down some of the drones, some of the missiles, and some of the gliding bombs coming in towards the capital of Ukraine.

These systems save lives and protect infrastructure – and I have seen it in operation. It will always remind me of how vital they are – not only for Ukraine's defense, but also for Europe's defense.

I think that the issue of air defense is something which is coming to decision-makers of most countries now.

Conclusion

So, in summing up,

Friends, here at Norway House, we underline the interdependence; seafood, energy, defense, maritime, green tech, and beyond. Europe, EU and Norway are highly indispensable to each other. And Norway is proud to be a committed member of Europe's extended family.

I am joined here also by the main social partners, by LO – the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, and the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprises –NHO. We have met with the Commission President today. Together with leading Norwegian companies, it's part of the Norwegian model, and we are really proud of that.

Now, we have to stand together and consult as we deal with the turbulence in the financial markets, as we deal with appropriate response to what has been let loose of tariffs. And we will stay very closely in touch with the Commission on this. Thank you, Ambassador, for being in the lead on that. Europe is stronger when we work together.

So welcome to this good gathering. And I wish you all luck with this conference. We have challenging times ahead. Thank you.