Several Members of the European Parliament have urged Norway, whose energy companies have seen sharply higher revenues due to the current market situation, to redirect a larger share of those earnings toward support for Ukraine, NRK reports.
Swedish MEP Karin Karlsbro of the liberal Renew Europe group framed the issue from Kyiv's perspective. "Now we need to look at this situation from Ukraine's standpoint — which also has to overcome challenges with rising prices in order to defend its country… I hope all countries that have the financial capacity to strengthen support for Ukraine will do so. And it is clear that Norway, with the latest price trends, has a new opportunity," she said.
German Green MEP Rasmus Andresen argued that the current price environment justifies a closer look at additional taxation on oil and gas company profits, including those of Norway's Equinor.
Finance minister points to pension fund exposure and existing aid levels
Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg responded in writing, arguing that the windfall narrative captures only part of the picture. "When oil prices rise — our oil revenues rise, but when stock prices fall, the savings of the pension fund also lose value. The pension fund is 5 times larger than the value of all oil and gas reserves still remaining in Norway. And if turbulence in the world continues to weaken the prospects of thousands of companies in which Norway holds shares — then the 'drop' in our fund will be significantly greater than the benefit from higher oil revenues. So Norway in every sense benefits from a world of peace and stability, and we are actively working to contribute to such a state of affairs," Stoltenberg stated.
He added that, relative to the size of its economy, Norway already provides assistance to Ukraine at more than 10 times the level of other European partners.
Earlier reports indicated that in 2026, the total volume of Norwegian financial support for Ukraine will reach 19 bn euros.
Since the start of the war with Iran, the European Union has lost 22 bn euros on fossil fuel imports. The European Commission is preparing systemic measures to address the energy crisis, which will be discussed by EU leaders on 23–24 April.
