Norway has never received so many people in such a short time, says the Prime Minister. Over 22,000 refugees have settled in Norwegian municipalities.
Updated only now
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre will speak at the AUF national meeting in Oslo on Friday.
It happens on the day Støre has been prime minister for a year, a period marked by the electricity crisis, the pandemic, rising prices and not least the war in Ukraine.
– Many people tell me that “Jonas, you had bad luck”. But that’s not how we think in our movement. WE take responsibility. But people were lucky because we are in charge, Støre said.
– Keeps people down
War was Støre’s most important theme in the speech. He believes the world can be permanently changed:
– Many countries are moving in an authoritarian direction. The rights that are being fought for are under pressure: think of the right to abortion or the rights of homosexuals, of authoritarian leaders. And we are indeed at a turning point in history: Putin and Russia, our neighbor, have entered the war against another neighboring country and are threatening to use nuclear weapons, Støre said.
– They are the same politicians in Russia with whom we could make deals ten years ago, now they are going into this war. A regime that keeps people at bay and wages a war of aggression, Støre said.
Record number of refugees
He pointed out that Norway could exceed 30,000 refugees from Ukraine this weekend after the war began.
– This weekend, or next week, could be the day we move 30,000 Ukrainian refugees to Norway. We have never welcomed such a large number of people to Norway. Well over 20,000 live in the municipalities, a formidable effort has been made.
The UDI already estimated in March – a few weeks after the start of the war – that 30,000 refugees could arrive from Ukraine in 2022.
This estimate has since been revised up to 40,000 for the full year. The UDI wrote in a press release on Friday that over 22,000 are now residents, while over 6,000 Ukrainians are about to become residents.
– End of Ukraine
Støre stressed that Ukraine is making progress on the battlefield, but that ultimately such conflicts must end in a negotiated solution.
– We must stick to the fact that even the most brutal conflicts must end at the negotiating table. Although such a solution is long gone, Støre said, noting that Ukraine is fighting a battle for survival:
– What they are saying is: if Russia stops the war, then the war is over. If Ukraine stops the war, then it is the end of Ukraine. This is the battle they are fighting, Støre said.
Power
Støre also raised Putin’s energy war against Europe and said that even if Norway were to supply as much gas as possible in the short term, the long-term solution to Europe’s energy shortage is for Norway and other countries to accelerate it. development of renewable energy.
