The European Commission intends to establish a “Green Alliance” between the European Union and Norway in order to consolidate their cooperation on ecological transition, according to an internal document of the institution obtained by EUROPE on Friday 23 September.
“The Green Alliance will reinforce the commitment of the EU and Norway to deepen cooperation and exchange best practices in areas that are fundamental to accelerating the transition to climate neutrality and reversing biodiversity loss”, the document says.
The Commission will therefore seek “the EU Council’s authorisation to sign the Alliance at a later stage”, the text then adds, while indicating that the signature could possibly take place in the framework of the 27th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), in early November.
This follows a declaration by Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in February, in which they expressed their joint desire to strengthen EU-Norway cooperation on climate, energy and industrial transformation.
While the Commission document does not specify which sectors would be covered by the Alliance, some NGOs have recently expressed concern that the Norwegian government is trying to include oil and gas (see EUROPE 13027/6).
See the document: https://aeur.eu/f/38y (Original version in French by Damien Genicot)