Dag Terje Andersen (Labor Party), who led the Storting’s special Frode Berg investigation, goes against the secrecy in one of Norway’s biggest spy scandals.
This week he leaves the Storting, after several decades in politics.
The outgoing Storting politician who also chaired the Control and Constitution Committee is among very few Norwegians who have been allowed to read the classified report made by the EOS committee on the Frode Berg case.
In February it was created a separate committee to process the graded message from the secret service control body.
– in December 2017, Frode Berg was arrested in Moscow, and later sentenced to 14 years in prison for espionage. Photo: Private
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The presidency of the Storting was informed by the committee that there was extensive and highly graded material.
Criticism is kept secret
The EOS Committee’s graded final report was presented to the committee on 10 March, and on 12 April the Storting committee held a closed hearing.
Committee leader Andersen read the report in a closed room in the Storting, and describes the Frode Berg case as very serious.
After an extensive secrecy in the Frode Berg case, Dag Terje Andersen chooses to lighten the veil a little.
He supports the work of the EOS committee, and tells TV 2 that the secret recommendation from the Storting’s special committee contains criticism of the then Minister of Defense Ine Eriksen Søreide (H).
– Nils Andreas Stensønes, Head of the E-service, in the Storting during the hearing on the Frode Berg case. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB
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Before Søreide became Minister of Foreign Affairs, she was Minister of Defense from 2013 to 2017. According to Andersen, she was involved in the Frode Berg case while she was Minister of Defense.
The failed intelligence operation that Frode Berg was involved in, led to him being involved in a double game, where Russian counter-intelligence fed the Norwegian E-service with false information.
When he was arrested in Moscow in December 2017, the FSB had collected comprehensive evidence against Berg since 2015.
NRK announced in April that the EOS committee has on several points concluded that the E-service has behaved in a manner worthy of criticism. However, Andersen is not allowed to say why the EOS committee comes with the criticism.
He says that it is dramatic that for the first time in 25 years a disagreement has arisen about secrecy, where even a short summary of four pages can not be made public.
The EOS Committee has prepared a summary, which they thought was suitable for publication.
– Frode Berg after the meeting with the Storting’s EOS committee in November 2019. Photo: Fredrik Hagen / NTB
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But when the Storting’s presidency asked the Ministry of Defense to downgrade the summary, the ministry refused to do so.
– Solidly founded
Andersen fears that such a comprehensive secrecy could be used for something other than protecting the state’s secrets.
In May, the Storting committee came up with a recommendation in the case, and divided the recommendation into a public and a closed part.
– There is on page 21 in the secret setting a justification for the criticism of Søreide which I believe is solidly founded. And in the EOS committee’s summary, there are things that everyone can talk about, which have already appeared in the media, says Dag Terje Andersen to TV 2.
According to the outgoing politician, the Ministry of Defense’s handling of the case under Minister Søreide’s leadership was highly reprehensible.
He also raised this in the form of a proposal with SV in the special committee on 31 May. The Center Party, MDG and Rødt supported the proposal, which was voted down by 46 to 41 votes, according to the minutes.
When this proposal was put forward in May, the reasons for the criticism were not public.
– Dag Terje Andersen (Labor Party) has for many years been a prominent politician in the Storting. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB
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– This is a very concrete justification that is about her own involvement with the Frode Berg case, not just her constitutional responsibility, Andersen says to TV 2 about the background for the proposal.
Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide has been made aware of Andersen’s statements, and says via her press officer that she cannot comment on confidential information.
– Surprised
Committee member Svein Harberg (H) wonders about the Labor veteran’s motives, and can not comment on Andersen’s statement.
– I am surprised and unsure of what is the reason why Dag Terje Andersen in his last days as a parliamentary representative, after a long political life, lifts up old news again in a case he has been involved in dealing with. That’s weird. The criticism Andersen refers to, I can of course not comment since it refers to a document other than publicity, and I can therefore not comment on the solidity he himself refers to, says Harberg, parliamentary deputy leader of the Conservative Party. to TV 2
In February, it became known that the EOS Committee was not allowed to publish its report on the Frode Berg case. The report was ready as early as December 2020.
– All information is security-graded, even if criticism has been expressed or not, the EOS committee, which is the Storting’s control committee for the secret services, stated.
– In November 2019, Prime Minister Erna Solberg (H) and Foreign Minister Ine Eriksen Søreide (H) held a press conference on the handover of Frode Berg. Photo: Håkon Mosvold Larsen / NTB
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Disappointed Berg: – Absurd
The intelligence operation in Russia was full of mistakes and gross errors. But the investigation is kept secret against Frode Berg’s will.
The retired border inspector, who was sentenced to 14 years in prison for espionage, has expressed disappointment in an open letter to the Storting.
– I really have a hard time understanding that this can be true (…) It is also absurd for me that the person being investigated can decide for themselves that the results of the investigation should be kept secret. Not a word should come out, Frode Berg wrote to the Storting committee that was appointed to assess the EOS committee’s report in his case.
Berg believes that one of the most important reasons why the authorities will not give him access to the report from the EOS committee is the criticism that emerges.
– Frode Berg on the street in Oslo. Photo: Truls Aagedal / TV 2
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– They are probably a little afraid of the criticism that is there. It is flamboyant, says Frode Berg said to TV 2.
This spring, the Storting said by 46 to 42 votes no to downgrade a brief summary of the report.
Dag Terje Andersen says that it is very special that an interim report that the EOS committee believes can be downgraded will not be made public either. He believes that secrecy is being abused by the government.
– This is a secret that I perceive as an attempt to evade criticism. The ministry is protected, and not state secrets, says Andersen.
Red requires publication
Bjørnar Moxnes in Rødt confirms that the party supported Dag Terje Andersen’s proposal for criticism of Søreide.
– It has emerged in the media that Frode Berg was used in a completely irresponsible offensive intelligence operation inside Russian territory, which would primarily serve the United States if it succeeded, but which obviously did significant damage to Norway’s security. Rødt’s policy is that people in power must also be held responsible for errors and scandals, and the person most responsible for this case was the then Minister of Defense Søreide, says Moxnes to TV 2.
– Party leader in Red, Bjørnar Moxnes. Photo: Martin Leigland / TV 2
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Rødt has previously announced a rematch in the EOS report on Frode Berg, and after the election there is a majority for publication.
Moxnes says that Rødt is now taking the initiative for a rematch to publish the summary of the Frode Berg report.
– The government’s secrecy in the Frode Berg case has given a historic setback for democratic control of the government. Rødt demands the publication of the summary of the Frode Berg report, both to get the facts on the table and ensure that such catastrophic mistakes are not repeated, but also to restore the democratic control that the right-wing government has built down, says the Rødt leader to TV 2.
Bjørnar Moxnes, who was a member of the special committee, accuses the government of abusing access to secrecy.
– This government has consistently abused the right to secrecy, not to protect Norway’s security, but to cover up its own mistakes and scandals and put a lid on the debate, he says.
– It also happened in the Frode Berg case, where the Storting’s control body, the EOS committee, has given crystal clear information that it is justifiable to publish the summary of the report, says Moxnes.
– Parodic and unworthy
Moxnes says that last year Rødt got a unanimous Storting to agree that there was a need to ensure the Storting’s participation and control of foreign and defense policy.
– AT THE BORDER: Frode Berg at the border crossing point Storskog. In the background, the Russian border guard station can be seen. Photo: Aage Aune / TV 2
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– The government’s secrecy of the Frode Berg report broke with the intention behind this Storting decision, but fortunately they failed to prevent us from promoting criticism of the then Minister of Defense Søreide, says the Red leader.
Moxnes believes that the secrecy in the Frode Berg case is both parodic and unworthy of a democracy.
– The government’s indefensible secrecy led to the Storting having to discuss a secret report with a secret recommendation, with secret proposals, in a secret debate, in a secret room at a secret time, with a secret ballot, secret decisions, secret results and secret minutes. It is both parodic and unworthy of a democracy, where an important main principle is that the elected representatives should be able to follow the government in the seams, he says.
– The secret services are one of the most intrusive means of power in the Norwegian state. When the Storting’s control body is gagged for the first time and deprived of the opportunity to exercise real control over these services, it can go beyond both the legal security of individuals, democratic principles and national security interests. Lack of control results in more disclaimer and increases the risk of new failures in one of the most crucial areas for Norway’s security, says Bjørnar Moxnes to TV 2.
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