The EU’s renewables directive and carbon tax will be adopted before the next general election, predicts NHO boss

– Yes, Almlid answers bluntly to NTB’s question whether he thinks Norway will say yes to both the renewables directive and the CBAM regulation in the current parliamentary term.

– What do you base it on?

– I can’t believe anything other than that it will be. But now we have to speed things up, we’ve been waiting for a while, he says.

Frustration increases

Frustration is also increasing in the EU over the large backlog of EU legislation that Norway has not adopted. In total, it concerns around 500 legal documents.

Earlier this year, the EU took the unusual step of giving Norway a deadline of five months to implement the renewables directive, which the EU introduced in 2018. As you know, the government did not meet that deadline.

One of the reasons is that the government is divided in two on the matter. While Ap is in favor, Center Party leader and Finance Minister Trygve Slagsvold Vedum has sat on the back foot.

At a conference in Oslo on Monday about the way forward for the EU and the EEA, Almlid pointed out that the two regulations are important for Norwegian companies and workplaces.

– They regulate markets that are important to our companies. If we say no to the renewables directive, we risk losing access to the EU’s energy market. It is the same with CBAM. If we do not become part of the same reporting regime as our European colleagues or competitors, we have a problem, he tells NTB.

Carbon tariff on hold

The EU’s carbon tariff – or more precisely, the carbon limit adjustment mechanism – is also pending in the government.

The carbon tariff places an additional duty on goods such as aluminium, cement and fertilizer that are produced in countries where you pay less for emissions than in the EU. In this way, the customs will prevent European companies from being outcompeted. Without the same regulations, it could become far more difficult to export Norwegian goods to the continent.

CBAM is handled by the Ministry of Finance. When asked by NTB how far they have come in the matter, the ministry replies:

– Norway is still in dialogue with the EU and the EEA/EFTA countries regarding the possible introduction of CBAM in the EEA agreement. This is an ongoing dialogue, and we have no set time frame.

Støre: – Will follow up

For his part, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) will not say whether or when the two EU rules will be adopted.

– We handle this in a thorough manner. We will come up with a good solution at the right time, he says to NTB.

At the same time, Støre emphasizes that it is very important to protect the EEA agreement. It gives Norway access to the EU’s internal market in exchange for Norway taking in EU legislation that applies to the market.

– I want Norway to be where we have been throughout this EEA cooperation. A country where companies know that the same regulations apply. It is an advantage for a small country. And then we will follow up by implementing the rules that will be included in Norwegian legislation, says Støre.

– More proactive

Italy’s former Prime Minister Enrico Letta was also invited to the conference in Oslo. Letta is behind a much talked about rapport about the EU’s economic future.

Letta believes that the EU – and Norway – must be better integrated.

– We have no time to lose, he states and points out that more cooperation is important to strengthen security.

– If we do not have a common market for financial services, for communication and for energy independence, we have no security.

Letta also believes that Norway can play an important role in the further development of the internal market.

– But you must become more proactive, he says.