"Seabed Minerals Are Already Outdated" Arendal (High North News): To extract or preserve? To wait or not? Deep-sea mining in the Norwegian Sea is becoming the decade's most disputed matter.
“If We Stop the Oil, We Stop the War” Arendal (High North News): The EU's sanctions package against Russia has become so extensive that it is nearly impossible not to violate them. "If the purpose is to stop the war in Ukraine, it must be easier for all parties," says Aage Borchgrevink from the Norwegian Helsinki Committee.
From Global to Regional: “NATO Has Come Home” Arendal (High North News): Russia's invasion of Ukraine has forced a regionalization of the Nordics in NATO. "NATO has come home to the original tasks," says Norwegian MFA Espen Barth Eide (Labor).
Believes Norway’s Cautiousness Toward Russia to Be Outdated Arendal (High North News): NUPI researcher Karsten Friis and former Army Chief Rune Jakobsen believe Norway must stop walking on eggshells around the Russian border. "Russia has shown its true self, and we should put aside this fear of provoking them," says Jacobsen. "Too soon," says the Conservative Party's defense policy spokesperson.
Scrapping the Norwegian Base Policy Will Only Make Things Worse Commentary: To claim that the Norwegian base policy has been at a standstill the past years is to overlook that the High North is under constant allied military presence. We should listen to the Conservative Party's Hårek Elvenes before we draw new conclusions.
NATO Chief: “Great Powers Have No Right to “Spheres of Influence” Against Small Neighboring Countries" Arendal (High North News): "It would be life-threatening to Norway," says NATO's Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. However, he did not want to elaborate on the security situation in the Arctic.
NATO Ready To Include Ukraine Arendal (High North News): However, the Director of the Private Office of NATO, Stian Jenssen, and Professor of international politics, Janne Haaland Matlary, believe a NATO membership may come at the expense of parts of Ukraine's territory.
“EU Will Discuss Matters That Concerns Norway in Arenas We Are Not Invited” Arendal (High North News): With Sweden and Finland in NATO, Norway and Iceland will be the only two of the five Nordic NATO countries not to be EU members as well. "This may have consequences for Norway that we have not taken into account," believes Ine Eriksen Søreide, Leader of the Norwegian Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Important Arctic Research Could Be Lost in the Wake of Russia's War It is not only the ice that is disappearing in the Arctic while the war in Ukraine rages on. Climate scientists also believe that knowledge will be lost if it is not shared and protected. "The research suffers and it will take time to recover," says the Secretary General of the Norwegian Scientific Academy for Polar Research, Thor S. Larsen.
Warns Against Ban of Russian Fishing Vessels from Norwegian Ports "A port ban against Russian fishing vessels will be the final nail in the coffin for the bilateral cooperation with Russia in many ways," says NRK's Moscow correspondent, Gro Holm.
Chief of Defence to HNN: Russian Military Activity is Unusually Low in the High North Russia has relocated large ground forces from the High North to Ukraine. Norway's Chief of Defence, Eirik Kristoffersen, says this indicates that the neighboring country sees the High North as stable, and that there are no major threats here.
- Russian Intelligence Knows Our Weaknesses Better Than Most Members of Parliament If anyone wanted to exploit Norway’s weaknesses in critical infrastructure next week, it would be very easy to do so, says retired Lieutenant-General Robert Mood. He argues that Russian intelligence has far more knowledge about Norway’s weaknesses than do most members of Parliament.
Young Scientists Pour Into the Svalbard "Climate Lab". But Their Engagement is not Reflected Amongst Decision-Makers Svalbard is growing wetter, warmer and greener. Fortunately, an increasing amount of young people flock to the island to conduct field studies of the changes. Unfortunately their interest is not reflected amongst decision-makers.
MP Expects Answer to Three Specific Arctic Challenges On Monday, the main lines of the upcoming Norwegian whitepaper on the Arctic will be presented. MP Eirik Sivertsen expects a more progressive Arctic policy than we see today and wants the whitepaper to respond to three main challenges.
