The European Commissioner for Energy, Kadri Simson, co-chaired, on Tuesday 24 October, the 6th EU-Norway Energy Dialogue alongside the Norwegian Minister for Petroleum and Energy, Terje Aasland.
This dialogue provided an opportunity to return to the common objectives set out in the EU-Norway Green Alliance, adopted last April, and above all to strengthen the energy partnership between the two parties, Norway having become the EU’s leading supplier of gas, with 50% of natural gas transported by pipeline in the EU in the first five months of 2023.
“We have a lot in common in terms of developing the energy sector and working on security of supply”, explained Terje Aasland at the end of the dialogue, which both parties called for to be conducted on a regular basis.
“The main problem is the lack of energy. We must therefore rely on each other and trust each other to strengthen energy security by investing in renewable energies and in oil and gas”, he continued.
Regarding the clean energy legislation package adopted by the Member States, Kadri Simson said that every effort was being made to “provide all the necessary explanations to convince our Norwegian partners that the legislation is beneficial for our systems (...) and that a functioning and interconnected electricity market would be beneficial for Europeans, but also for Norwegians”.
The two parties also discussed in greater detail the wind energy package presented the same day by the European Commission (see EUROPE 13278/5), the ongoing reform of the European electricity market (see EUROPE 13275/6) and the importance of Norway’s role in the clean-tech industry, including hydrogen and CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilisation & Storage). (Original version in French by Pauline Denys)