Toespraak Commissievoorzitter Barroso over gesprekken met Noorse regering (en)

It was a pleasure to meet once again my good friend Prime Minister Stoltenberg here in Brussels. Thank you for coming. We see each other on a regular basis. The last time was at the beginning of this month at the Baltic Sea States Forum, of which both Norway and the Commission are part. That shows how close Norway and the EU are as political partners.

We see eye to eye on key issues: Norway is of course part of our internal market through the European Economic Area Agreement. It is a close ally on many critical issues, from climate change and energy to economic reforms, and, beyond the EEA, from foreign policy to new challenges such as arctic policy. We are grateful for this close cooperation.

Today, we discussed a range of political and economic issues: Of course we spoke about the difficult global economic situation and the themes that will be raised at tomorrow's European Council and the G20 i Summit at the end of June, at which I will also be representing the EU.

I explained Europe's objectives of economic governance, fiscal consolidation and structural reforms, on all of which we have made detailed proposals. I think I can say we have agreed that this way is vital to safeguard our prosperity and also the future of the economic and social model of Europe.

For the EU, I have proposed the Europe 2020 Strategy to boost smart, sustainable and inclusive growth. I appreciate the fact that Norway's government shares many of these objectives and will implement those related to the EEA. Even though its economic situation is of course largely different, Norway has a key stake in the EU internal market that is the world's largest.

We did also discuss, briefly but substantively, energy and climate change topics. Norway is a crucial, reliable energy partner, the second largest supplier of gas to the EU, accounting for a quarter of our imports. We have a fruitful dialogue on energy policy in general.

I have also congratulated Prime-Minister Stoltenberg on his leadership on climate action and to his recent appointment as co-chair of the United Nations High Level Group of Climate and Financing. Norway has been a very active and like-minded player in the global climate negotiations. I particularly welcome its initiatives on Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation and, more broadly, Prime Minister Stoltenberg's strong personal commitment on the very important issue of financing the fight against climate change. In fact, I will discuss these issues next week in the meetings that will take place in Canada, in the G8 and the G20, and I have also been in close contact with the Secretary General of the United Nations on this matter

We also spoke briefly about some foreign policy topics, for instance relations with Russia. We also agreed on the importance of a deepened multilateral arctic policy - an area that shows how future-oriented our cooperation is.

I look forward to further close cooperation between the European Commission and the Government of Norway and Prime Minister Stoltenberg personally. Especially in these critical times it is good to know that we are close friends and that we are working together to face many of the challenges that, as Europeans, we are always committed to find a solution.