Norway refused to use its sovereign wealth fund to guarantee the EU loan for Ukraine

Norway is against using its sovereign wealth fund to guarantee an EU loan for Ukraine.

This was stated by Norway’s finance minister Jens Stoltenberg in an interview with NRK.

According to Stoltenberg, Norway—which is not an EU member—already makes significant financial contributions to Ukraine and could potentially take part in the EU’s loan plans, but it will not provide guarantees on its own.

“There were some ideas that Norway should guarantee the entire amount—1.6 trillion Norwegian kroner ($159 billion)—but that’s not an option,” he said.

The finance minister added that Norway’s decision will depend on the EU’s final decision regarding the loan.

On Thursday, EU finance ministers are to discuss ways of providing Ukraine with €130–140 billion by using frozen Russian assets.

As a reminder, Belgium—where Euroclear, the company holding the bulk of the Russian assets, is based—has opposed using the frozen funds, fearing lawsuits from Moscow.