Norwegian Finance Minister Trygvi Slagzvold Vedum said on Thursday that he and his Eurosceptic Centre Party would resign from the government over disagreements with coalition partner Labour over the adoption of the European Union’s energy policy.
The Centre Party, in government since 2021, holds eight seats in Norway’s 20-member cabinet, including the finance minister, the defence minister and the justice and public safety minister, while Labour holds the remaining 12 seats.
Labour, which says Norway must maintain good relations with the EU given the threat of a trade war between Europe and the United States, could now rule alone in a minority government until elections in September.
Labour wants Norway, which is outside the EU, to adopt EU directives on renewable energy consumption, energy efficiency in buildings and increasing overall energy efficiency, government ministers said.
The Centre Party opposes all of these directives, which it says will infringe on Norwegian autonomy, and has long argued that electricity and gas exporter Norway should instead seek regulatory powers back from the EU.
“The bottom line for us is that the Centre Party does not want to be part of this,” Vedum told a news conference.
Norway’s two-party, center-left minority government is lagging behind right-wing parties in opinion polls ahead of parliamentary elections later this year, Reuters reported.
