Center Party sounds the alarm on foreign acquisitions in Norway: “We mustn’t be naive”
Center Party (SP) leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum warns against naivety when it comes to Russian and Chinese acquisitions of property, companies, and natural resources in Norway.
“We must ensure national ownership of natural resources. We must not be naive,” Vedum told news bureau NTB
“Natural resources are the basis for the commonwealth we have in Norway. Therefore, we must own it ourselves.”
He referred to the recent threat assessment from the Police Security Service (PST), where foreign acquisitions of properties, companies, and natural resources are highlighted as a risk for Norway.
PST’s threat assessment
When the threat assessment was presented, PST chief Hans Sverre Sjøvold pointed out that the security service has noticed a number of examples of what can be strategic acquisitions of land from foreign states.
When Vedum pressured Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) to comment on the warning in the Norwegian parliament (Storting) on Wednesday, the Prime Minister responded by referring to the new Security Act from 2018.
“Pursuant to the Security Act, it is, of course, possible for us, based on a security assessment, to make regulations related to the takeover of areas,” Solberg said.
Source: © NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today / #NorwayTodayNews
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