The Norwegian gas plant is important for the security of Europe

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During a visit to the Troll A gas production platform off the west coast of Norway on Friday, Stoltenberg said: “Gas installations such as the Troll platform are crucial for our economy, our industry, but also for our safety.” Russian President Vladimir Putin has tried to use energy as a weapon in the war against Ukraine. Norwegian gas helped cause him to fail.

Stoltenberg arrived on Friday together with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen for an unannounced visit to the offshore platform in the North Sea. They were welcomed on site by Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and the head of the Norwegian oil and gas company Equinor, Anders Opedal.

Von der Leyen thanked Støre for his intervention when Putin cut Russia’s gas supply by 80 percent and wanted to blackmail the EU. Norway has increased its production from 78 to 90 billion cubic meters. “That really got us through the winter,” said von der Leyen.

Von der Leyen and Stoltenberg said infrastructure as important as the gas production platform needed special sabotage protection. For example, they referred to a joint working group that met together for the first time on Thursday.

EU and NATO experts will work together in the task force to map the main threats to the infrastructure and identify weaknesses. It is about energy, but also about the other areas of transport, digital and space travel. In addition, NATO has expanded its presence in the Baltic and the North Sea, Stoltenberg said.

(SDA)

Source: Blick