EU, Norway Cooperate on Energy Crisis Response..."Will Continue to Increase Production"

Norway, Europe's Largest Energy Exporter
Seeking Cooperation Measures to Curb Price Increases

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] The European Union (EU), facing an energy shortage crisis due to Russia's gas supply cut, has decided to strengthen cooperation with Norway to stabilize energy prices. Norway is Europe’s largest energy exporter.

On the 6th (local time), Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, and Jonas Gahr Støre, Prime Minister of Norway, held a meeting in Prague, Czech Republic, and issued a joint statement saying, "We have agreed to jointly develop measures within our respective capacities to stabilize the energy market." They also emphasized that "Norway will continue to increase gas production to take effective measures to reduce price increases in both the short and long term."

Regarding Russia, they criticized, "Russia is weaponizing and manipulating the energy market to deliberately divide its close partner countries," adding, "It is harming households and businesses and attempting to weaken rule-based regional cooperation."

This bilateral meeting was held on the occasion of the European Political Community (EPC), which was attended by leaders from 44 countries, including 27 EU member states and 17 non-EU countries.

Norway has emerged as Europe’s largest energy supplier since Russia cut natural gas supplies in response to Western countries’ economic sanctions. Relying on hydropower, Norway supplies one-fifth of its electricity production to the entire European region, including the UK, Germany, and the Netherlands, through cable networks. However, due to drought this summer lowering water levels at hydropower plants, Norway considered limiting electricity exports.

Although specific cooperation plans between the EU and Norway have not been disclosed, there is speculation that the EU, which is discussing the introduction of a gas price cap, may have held talks with Norway on this issue.

Given that Norway has recently strengthened its alert status following gas leaks in the Baltic Sea’s Nord Stream 1 and 2 underwater natural gas pipelines, it is expected to enhance cooperation with the EU.

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reported that some member countries, including Greece, Poland, and Italy, proposed an alternative to the price cap by setting a range for the minimum and maximum energy prices at this meeting. These countries argued that if a price cap is set, the energy market’s supply would be difficult to maintain smoothly.