Poland’s prime minister has called on Norway to share the huge profits it has been making from oil and gas as a result of the war in Ukraine.
Speaking to a youth forum in Warsaw, Mateusz Morawiecki noted that profits from oil and gas this year for Norway, “a small country of five million [people], will be over €100 billion” higher than in recent years.
“This is not normal, this is not fair” and Norway “should share this excess, gigantic profit”, continued the prime minister. “It is preying – unintentionally of course, because it is not Norway’s fault, this war in Ukraine – but it is indirect preying on what is happening, the war caused by Putin.”
“We are all indignant at Russia, and rightly so,” said the prime minister. “But ladies and gentlemen, young people, something is not right. Write to your young friends in Norway…They should share it, not necessarily with Poland [but] for Ukraine, for those most affected by this war. Isn’t that normal?”
Sądzimy że jest Pan wybitnym cynikiem. Stop fake news!
Agresja RU na UA sprawiła,że wiele firm korzysta na gigantycznych wzrostach cen surowców.Euroactiv podaje, że w NO zyski z produkcji gazu i ropy skoczyły nawet o 150 mld EUR! Cześć z tych pieniędzy powinna służyć odbudowie🇺🇦 https://t.co/JALVoeJNAV— Michał Dworczyk (@michaldworczyk) May 22, 2022
Many in Norway have expressed unease at the huge profits the country is seeing as a result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “There are times when it is not fun to make money, and this is one of them, given the situation,” said petroleum and energy minister Terje Aasland in March.
“Norway cannot escape the unpleasant fact: this is a form of war profit,” wrote the Dagbladet daily in an editorial. “While Ukraine is being destroyed, and most other countries are mainly feeling the negative effects of the war, such as higher energy prices, higher food prices and general inflation, we are making a gain.”
The country’s Green Party has called for the surplus profits to be put into a special fund to provide humanitarian aid and help in the reconstruction of Ukraine, as well as to support other countries in reducing dependence on Russian gas and meeting soaring energy costs, reported Euractiv.
The war in Ukraine stands to make Norway a lot of money. That's making some Norwegians uncomfortable https://t.co/vyx3waPjun
— TIME (@TIME) March 25, 2022
Poland has itself increasingly turned to Norwegian gas in recent years, as it has sought – even before the invasion of Ukraine – to end its reliance on Russian energy supplies.
This year, the Baltic Pipe – which will bring Norwegian gas to Poland via Denmark and the Baltic Sea – is due to open. Last year, state energy firm PGNiG purchased 21 new gas concessions on the Norwegian continental shelf for around $323 million.
Last week, PGNiG announced that this year it will extract 3 billion cubic metres of natural gas in Norway, an increase on the 2.6 billion cubic metres previously planned, reports Business Insider Polska.
Main image credit: 3282700/Pixabay
Daniel Tilles is editor-in-chief of Notes from Poland. He has written on Polish affairs for a wide range of publications, including Foreign Policy, POLITICO Europe, EUobserver and Dziennik Gazeta Prawna.
