Due to the war, inflation and the energy crisis, Europe, including Norway, is facing a stressful period, says Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Störe. According to the summary of the Mediaworks News Center, the Prime Minister announced: it is of primary importance that households have access to energy under favorable conditions, therefore the government is implementing utility reductions, while also reducing loan interest rates.

Hungary has already introduced these measures, in other words: Norway has followed the Hungarian path.

In a long opinion piece, the Norwegian Prime Minister analyzes the period ahead for the Scandinavian country and Europe. Jonas Gahr Störe's article published on the public media page on Monday - which was viewed by the Mediaworks News Center - autumn and winter will be stressful for everyone, for which they must be prepared. The war in Ukraine is not going to end anytime soon, and Europe is facing an energy crisis accompanied by high inflation. Although the Norwegian economy is currently still on a strong growth path, it is necessary to prepare for more critical times. According to the left-wing prime minister, safe financial management is the most important thing that his government can achieve - compared to the crises of recent times, the state will not spend more, but less, which it will achieve by curbing expenditures and investments.

At the same time, he emphasized in his letter: it is of primary importance that households have access to energy under favorable conditions.

High energy prices are also affecting Norway, especially in the southern part of the country, where the tariffs have increased the most, so the government - in addition to reducing budget expenditures - is carrying out overhead reductions. In the event that the price of electricity exceeds the tariff of 70 per kilowatt hour (equivalent to HUF 27), the state pays 80 percent of the excess, and 90 percent in the winter months, from the public treasury. "Electricity costs weigh heavily on household budgets, and the electricity subsidy system directly relieves people," said Störe. He added that it is very important that the loan interest rates affecting the population do not rise more than necessary, for which the government is introducing measures.

The prime minister touched on the work stoppage of oil and gas miners initiated by trade unions in early July, which caused a great reaction in the country and sounded the alarm in several other European states.

Norway accounts for 30 percent of Germany's gas consumption and 40 percent of the United Kingdom's, which is why it is understandable that the importance of Norwegian gas continues to grow in addition to the uncertain Russian supply. According to the prime minister, the basis of Norwegian prosperity is trade, primarily with European markets, so the security of the neighboring states also means security for Norway, as the country's economy is open and closely intertwined with that of the neighboring states. The government broke the strike by introducing a mandatory wage table, because according to Jonas Gahr Störe, if Norwegian gas production were to fall in half, it would threaten the security of energy supply in several countries and cause a deep crisis in the region.

Source: 888.hu / Mediaworks Hírcentrum

Image: Vg.hu