Norway's windfall: should it go to Ukraine?
Oil-based wealth fund is intended 'for future generations of Norwegians', but Putin's war poses an existential threat

"Are we a nation of money-grubbers and war profiteers?" That's what we must look like to our European neighbours, said Asbjørn Svarstad in Nettavisen (Oslo).
Norway is sitting on a huge war windfall that could solve the continent's problems in an instant. Our sovereign wealth fund is now worth €1.7 trillion – and €109 billion of that came straight from our neighbours' pockets. Shortly after Russia invaded Ukraine, Putin cut off Russian gas supplies, sending energy prices skyrocketing and leaving Norway to lap up the profits as the continent's biggest gas supplier. And given that our European allies are pushing their budgets to the limit to help fund Ukraine's fight for survival, we owe it to them to plough that money back into rearmament. Yet until last week, when, under significant pressure, the government more than doubled its contribution to €7 billion – we were the "Uncle Scrooge" of Europe: shamefully, we've donated less to Ukraine as a share of GDP than our Scandinavian neighbours.
Even €7 billion is a "pathetic" amount, said Peter Wolodarski and Christian Jensen, the editors (respectively) of a Swedish and a Danish newspaper, in Aftenposten (Oslo). We used to view the home of the Nobel Peace Prize as a generous and globally orientated country. Now we "don't recognise our Norwegian brothers and sisters".
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But Norway's government has stood its ground, said Håvard Halland in the FT (London). Even the finance minister, Jens Stoltenberg, who previously as head of Nato pushed countries to give more, argues against donating more to Ukraine. The wealth fund is governed by strict fiscal rules, he argues: it's specifically designed "for future generations of Norwegians".
And he's not alone in flatly rejecting the idea that Norway has a "special responsibility" to help Ukraine, said Eirik Røsvik in Verdens Gang (Oslo). Norway's former finance minister, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, argues that Norway has no need to penalise itself for being a perfectly legitimate energy exporter. And besides, he says, "if Norway were suddenly to give three times as much as, let's say, Germany has done, other countries will soon give less". Far better, he believes, that Norway just remains a "stable" ally of Ukraine.
Alas, my country is drunk on "the illusion of wealth", said Knut N. Kjær in Aftenposten. Oil riches aren't the same as power, and we're still a small vulnerable country on the border of Vladimir Putin's imperialism. "More than ever, we need predictability and security in our relationship with Europe", and we won't get that by being "opportunistic egoists". In fact, donating the windfall would be an investment in our future. Ukrainian soldiers are battling an "existential threat to freedom and democracy" – not just to their own country but to ours, too.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
A 'meltdown' at Hegseth's Pentagon
Feature The Defense Secretary is fighting to keep his job amid leaked Signal chats and staff turmoil
-
Reining in Iran: Talks instead of bombs
Feature Trump edges closer to a nuclear deal with Iran—but is it too similar to former President Barack Obama's pact?
-
Tariffs: The quest to bring back 'manly' jobs
Feature Trump's tariffs promise to revive working-class jobs, but today's labor market has moved on
-
Trump's war on academic freedom: how Harvard fought back
Talking Point Political pressure on institutions compromises academic independence – and risks damaging America's ability to attract international talent
-
Andrew Tate and the manosphere: a short guide
The Explainer It is widely believed that boys and young men are absorbing sexist attitudes online, from influencers in the manosphere
-
Why is Crimea a sticking point between Russia and Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Questions over control of the Black Sea peninsula are stymying the peace process
-
Trump blames Zelenskyy for peace deal setbacks
Speed Read Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has rejected the US proposal, which includes Russia's takeover of Crimea
-
Climate: Trump's attempt to bring back coal
Feature Trump rolls back climate policies with executive orders aimed at reviving the coal industry