Norway assures EU of continuation of gas supply

BRUSSELS, Feb 23 (KUNA) -- Prime Minister of Norway Jonas Gahr Store Wednesday assured European countries that his country will continue the delivery of gas to overcome eventual drop of Russian gas supply.
"Shared values is the bedrock of our cooperation and we are reminded these days as events unfold in Ukraine. Norway joined forces with our partners to react to what Russia did this week. We did it alongside Europe," he told reporters in Brussels standing alongside the President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen.
"My message coming here to Brussels today is that Norway will play its part but we also have something valuable to contribute, reliability on gas," he said.
On her part, von der Leyen told reporters that "there are many issues we are going to certainly discuss. One issue will be energy. As we have seen, Russia has instrumentalised energy over the last past months, if not to say years, to put pressure not only on Ukraine but also on the European Union." "And therefore, it is wonderful to have you here. You are a reliable supplier of gas. We could always count on you, you were always true in what you promised and offered. You were always reacting when there was more need of gas. So many thanks for all the support you have given us," she said.
"For us, the motto is very clear for the European Union: getting rid of the dependency on Russian gas and getting more into the renewables," she added.
Earlier today Gahr Store and Belgian Prime Minister Alexander de Croo signed an energy cooperation agreement between the two countries.
"This energy cooperation is important for our country. Closer cooperation with Norway means better energy supply," de Croo said in press statements.
Belgian Minister of Energy Tinne Van der Straeten said "this energy agreement paves the way for a climate-neutral future. Today, Norway supplies almost 50% of our natural gas, making it our biggest supplier." On his part, the Norwegian prime minister said that while Norway is delivering 20 percent of European gas needs, the country is committed to continuing doing so "at the maximum of our capacity." "We are delivering at the maximum of our capacity, even a bit more. And we maintain that solidarity on predictable terms with our allies," stressed Gahr Store.
He added that Norway was the "only provider of energy to Europe from within," as the country has access to the EUآ’s single market. Norway is not a member of the EU. (end) nk.rk