Comments by the Prime Minister at the Munich Security Conference in the panel “Europe’s Finest Hour? Building a Defence Union in Challenging Times”

The comments as delivered (transcript from the video recording)

(On military support to Ukraine, and on NATO, EU and the transatlantic links)

Well, on that last question, it is obviously yes. Norway is a NATO member, not a member of the EU, but closely integrated with the EU, so let me just support all four points of the President (of the European Commission): Europe needs to do more, better coordinated. There is a huge innovative industrial potential. We can make much more out of that, and Norway is part of these different programmes, and we will support them.

Let me just start by one thing about how we measure our words, because it was not as if last year that we said Ukraine will win, and this year we say – oh, Ukraine is going to lose, Russia is going to win. It is more complex than that. And I mean, Ukraine, as President Zelenskyy said, is not a success story for Putin. We are two years since the invasion, and it is a disaster, if you look at it from his perspective. He thought he would take Kyiv in three weeks, and he has lost 300,000 men perhaps – you know, and all of that following. So, we have to be measured here.

From my perspective, I think that we need to learn the lessons of getting enough and sophisticated weapons not only commissioned, but produced. The danger of just commissioning it is that it will end at the end of the long row, but the capacity to produce them, we see, is a much more complex thing. So, scaling up production of 155-millimeter ammunition, the Patriots, the NASAMs for air protection, is a big, complex task.

And we are learning that you can scale up car production, or ski production, or TV production easily, but weapons production is more complex. What we have learned – we have a joint Norwegian-Finnish company, NAMMO, its President is sitting there – we have placed big orders with NAMMO, much more than we can probably use, but giving them enough finance so they can start commissioning their production lines. That was the first measure.

The second measure is that we now go in as a government to buy part of the equipment you need to produce. So, we are buying part of the production line so that they can start producing. On that – I think – we have to coordinate much better to scale up the production.

But remember, Russia will probably be able to outmanoeuvre other countries if you measure weapon against weapon, in numbers. And as Ursula is saying, what they do with men is just, you know, it is a very dark story of how forces are being fought.

So, we have to be smarter, more innovative. We have to integrate technology. Now, we too put money and efforts into supporting Ukrainian innovation inside Ukraine with linking up our people, you know, to support them there.

My last remark is; as much as I support this European effort, and Norway will be part of it, but let us not forget that 80 percent of NATO's capacity here is non-European. It's US, Canada, UK, Turkey, Norway. So, I firmly believe that this transatlantic link – while we strengthen Europe – that we should not talk ourselves into the illusion that the Alliance is about to break. Because, I think it has such a significance – in the details on standards, for example, we need standards for our military, for our interoperability. We agreed to new regional plans in Vilnius last year. I mean, they are there, they are updated, they are really good.

I'm going to propose to our Parliament in a few months the biggest increase in our defence spending, both structurally and financially, since the Second World War. And we do that in accordance with the regional plans that we agreed in Vilnius. So, we are well set to do this in a way that we can see that we can defend Europe. But I still believe that we should do everything to preserve that transatlantic link.

And by the way, I agree with Mark (Rutte). You know, it is worthwhile following American politics, but there is a kind of a ‘Trump-frenzy’ here, that everything he says on the campaign train is tipping us off balance. We should not let that happen.

(Europe’s contributions to Ukraine)

I think what is useful to meet American friends here – I know they know – but we should communicate back home that Europe is doing a lot, is paying a lot and is contributing a lot. So, I think if we put figures – you can do it per GDP or the total amounts, Europe is about 100 billion now, and the US at a somewhat lower level – so we both contribute. We are on a dangerous path if we say how can the one supplement the other. We have to do this together and it has to be well coordinated.

The message from Zelenskyy here to us is that he is paying the price in terms of lives and destruction. And I cannot underline enough how Ukraine down there in the south of Europe do so much directly influence what happens in the north of Norway, to the Nordic countries, to the Scandinavian countries. It is changing the security situation on the continent, and that is of course also a profound interest, I believe, for the US.

And I also believe that, you know, for the United States to be the lead ally and have 31 allies among the most advanced countries in the world, is a major asset. There is so much going on in terms of the US position beyond Europe, and as we are going to face challenges in Asia and in other areas that we must stand together, so having this transatlantic understanding is hardcore security.

(On threats and preparedness)

Let me say on Ukraine that we brought to the Parliament a five-years package to support Ukraine, it was tailored so that it will stretch over to the next elections, so that whoever is Prime Minister after the elections will be politically bound by it. But the smart thing is that we have unanimity in Parliament, and I think that is also an expression of our support to Ukraine, but also a common understanding that there is a much bigger stake here also for us – that was my first point.

Secondly, I think, we have to be honest and communicate and really distinguish what is true in what is facing us. One dimension is of course military preparedness, should that happen. And that is why most countries are now significantly strengthening their national defence. We are doing it in coordination with our NATO allies.

And then, we have a more ‘daily threat’ which is affecting people, and that is extreme weather and climate change. That is the threat that is turning life upside down for people. So, we have to prepare people on that – you know, you should have in your kitchen enough stuff, to be able to manage during a few days without electricity, and if things are really changing. This is preparedness.

The third dimension of this is that our democracies are being tested on fake news, conspiracy theories, cyber-attacks, and you know, a very different kind of enemy. And should it come a conflict that really borders on – you know, I think that Putin's taste for a war with NATO is limited and that is so because NATO is strong – but it will not necessarily start in the military field; it will start by diluting our democracies, diluting the truth. We have to have preparedness for all of that.

So, if we are going to be trustworthy and communicate to our people, we have to be able to talk about military preparedness, how we prepare ourselves to have safe communities, and also how we protect the quality of our democracies.

(On Ukraine and NATO)

Ukraine is on its path to membership and we have to address a path which is reliable and trustworthy. I hope we will be able to look for a package that can bring us closer and in good time ahead of Washington so it is not happening in the last hours, creating that summit more chaotic than it should be. So, I hope that when we come to April-May, that we can see the contours of how this can be done.

And I see that among allies now there is a very active discussion on that and also with the Secretary General, to see how we can follow up from Vilnius and make success in Washington.

 

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