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Deputy oil minister Per Rune Henriksen's statement comes after the European Parliament’s Environment Committee decided on a moratorium on oil activities in the Arctic region.FOTO: Pål Christensen
“EU has no authority in the Arctic”, says Norway deputy oil minister
Deputy Oil and Energy Minister Per Rune Henriksen underlines the EU has no jurisdiction in the Arctic.
His statement comes after the European Parliament’s Environment Committee decided on a moratorium on oil activities in the region, according to NTB.
The
body made its decision last week in connection with the Parliament's handling of the European Commission's proposal on common
rules for offshore safety. The ruling caused Labour’s (Ap) Per
Rune Henriksen to travel to Brussels, Tuesday.
“The EU has no jurisdiction
in the Arctic, no member country has a Continental
Shelf in the Arctic,” Deputy Minister Henriksen
declared.
“But it’s important that we contribute our knowledge and expertise in the Arctic petroleum business, which we have been doing for over 30 years, when the European Parliament starts discussing these issues.”
Good system
He emphasised the fact that Norway believes it has a good system to
ensure environmental safety.
The EU began working on new and common offshore HSE standards following
2010’s Deepwater Horizon disaster in the Gulf of Mexico.
Three committees in the European Parliament are now considering
these before they are put to a plenary vote in December.
Fear of new rules
In Norway, the industry has feared
that the new rules will weaken Norwegian regulations in this area, but the government has made it clear that it does not consider the measure as having EEA
relevance.
“The EU will respect this,” stated Deputy Minister Per Rune Henriksen,
who met with Parliamentary members on both the Environmental and the Industry and Energy Committees
on Tuesday.
“A united oil industry, unions, and the Norwegian government can say this is something we don’t want on the Norwegian Continental Shelf.”
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