There is a murmur in the corners, but few of the European heads of state and government will say it openly. Apart from the Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas.
– Of course there is a question of whether it is ethical to profit so much from other people’s misfortune right now, Kallas tells TV2.
– Do you have any advice on what Norway should do about it?
– It’s an interesting problem you have, because no one else has this problem. Of course, one piece of advice would be not to charge so much for energy, because your friends in Europe suffer from high prices. We are spending more and more money on our budgets to lower prices and help people during the winter, says Kallas.
This week, the EU is likely to adopt some form of price cap on gas. This will also apply to Norway, as it is currently the largest gas supplier to the EU.
SUFFERING: Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas reminds Norway that many people have big problems paying their energy bills in Europe. His advice is to lower the price of gas. Photo: Santiago Vergara / TV 2
See Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre’s reply later in this question.
High electricity prices are being felt in Norway, but support for electricity has so far been minimal in many European countries. Therefore, high electricity prices hurt even more than in Norway. Next year, Norway will spend NOK 40 billion on electricity subsidies.
TOO LITTLE GAS: The high electricity prices in Europe are due to the fact that there is more demand than supply of energy. The war in Ukraine meant that Norway took over from Russia as the EU’s main gas supplier. Photo: Bors Isza Ferenc
Already in 2020 there were a total of 35 million people in the EU who were unable to heat their homes due to high prices. Today this figure is much higher.
The borders of Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany meet in a corner in the center of Europe.
– Better close
On the Belgian side, Gaston Ernst owns a bakery together with his wife Chantal. He says that when people have tighter finances, the sweetness of life is first lost.
LEAVING THE SWEETS: Baker Gaston Ernst notes that people drop cakes and other goodies when their finances are at their tightest. Photo: Santiago Vergara / TV 2
– Bread still sells, but baked goods sell less, says Gaston and points to the tempting cakes on the counter. He still succeeds financially, but fears the annual electricity bill.
The electricity price of energy companies has risen by more than 500% in the EU in just over a year. A colleague of his is in a bad mood.
The colleague usually pays NOK 23,000 a year in electricity bills for his four ovens. The bill has now almost quadrupled.
– He has to pay NOK 80,000. It’s wild. Then it’s better to shut down, says Gaston and reaches out in frustration.
Fear of power outages
Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel praises Norway for supplying gas to Europe.
ROSER: Luxembourg Prime Minister Xavier Bettel is full of praise for Norway for the increase in gas deliveries to Europe. His biggest fear is that there will be power shortages and power outages this winter. Photo: Santiago Vergara / TV 2
Norway now supplies gas which covers around 40% of the gas needs of European countries, whereas previously it was Russia that supplied the same level. Russian gas now covers only 9% of Europe’s needs.
Several EU countries generate electricity from gas. It is also common to use gas for heating and cooking in different countries. The price of gas is at a historically high level and therefore the price of electricity will be high.
However, Bettel is concerned about what could happen in Europe this winter. There may be too little energy to cover the need.
– In fact, blackouts are the worst thing that can happen, he says.
Cut dry hair without drying it
Just beyond the Belgian border is the German city of Achen. Germany is the EU country most dependent on Russian gas.
Liliane Ghazanfari’s hairdresser is quiet today. She is alone with two school-age children. Prices in the EU have risen by almost ten percent over the past year. She feels.
PREPARATION: The hairdresser Liliane Ghazanfari hopes to avoid customers having to cut their hair dry and without a hairdryer in the event of a power failure. You already feel the inflation now. Photo: Santiago Vergara / TV 2
– When I bought an entire shopping cart in the past, I paid 50 euros. Now it definitely costs twice as much, Liliane says.
It is willing to raise prices and adapt the offer to customers in the event of an electricity shortage. Perhaps he will have to stop drying clients’ hair because of the price of electricity.
– If it really hurts, we have to cut the hair without washing it.
However, he won’t let fear reign and worry too much about what might happen. Germany is also adopting a massive € 200 million electricity support package. At the same time, the German government has been lukewarm in introducing some form of price cap on gas in order to push down energy prices. To the annoyance of other EU countries who do not have the opportunity to support their citizens in the same way.
– As long as there is no war here and my children and I can go to school and work … And the only problem is that I can’t turn on the heat, even if it would have been comfortable. If that’s my only problem, it’s actually doing pretty well, Liliane says with a smile.
He thinks war is an ethical problem
Norway and many other EU countries do not want a cap on the price of gas.
– The prices are very high. Nor does Norway benefit from it. So we understand that you want to do something about it. The fact of the matter is that you lack gas. The demand is too great. What we have warned against is doing things that could make the problem worse, says Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.
DISAGREE: Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre disagrees with those who think it is a problem that Norway earns billions from the war in Ukraine. He says war is the ethical problem. Photo: Santiago Vergara / TV 2
When the problem is the lack of gasoline, the solution is not to make it cheaper, it is the argument of the opponents. So the gas risks being sold to other parts of the world, including Asian countries.
Støre refuses to give a discount on gas.
– It is not Norway that sells gas. Norway grants permits to extract gas, look for gas. Then there are the Norwegian and European companies that supply gas.
He points out that these are private companies, although some are partly state-owned.
– Now this has become a political issue. Why do you “entrust” it to companies?
– So it’s not me sitting and trading. There has never been a Norwegian prime minister sitting down and negotiating volumes on gas. In 50 years we have been an energetic nation, that’s not the case.
He disagrees with the Estonian Prime Minister’s outspoken criticism that it is an ethical problem for Norway to make billions from the war in Ukraine.
– War is an ethical problem. Create great imbalances. They also know that Norway, as an energy supplier, when prices are low and when prices are high, puts the income into the Norwegian pension fund for future generations. It does not enter the Norwegian state budget, says Støre.
He points out that Norway is giving 1 billion euros, 10 billion crowns to Ukraine this year and next year.
COOPERATION: Norway and the EU are working together to lower energy prices, but Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre does not want a gas cap. Photo: Santiago Vergara / TV 2
Støre and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen agree that energy prices are too high. The EU and Norway have set up a working group to work on these issues.
