To understand Norway’s history since 1962, one must draw up a precise timeline of the most significant changes in the energy sector, chronologically, step by step.
Without this timeline, it is not as clear how the power elite has systematically sealed the door and transferred our sovereignty to Brussels.
1962
The amendment to Article 93 of the Constitution (now Article 115) effectively paved the way for the transfer of sovereignty in various areas. Prior to this amendment, there was not the slightest possibility of ceding self-determination to supranational bodies.
The requirement introduced by the amendment – a three-quarters majority for decisions – was intended to ensure that a small elite could not simply do as it pleased… Where has that requirement gone?
1990/91
The Energy Act of 1990/1991 made the uniquely Norwegian power system market-oriented, dismantled the old monopolies and introduced competition in production.
However, the market in 1990/91 was still a uniquely Norwegian and Nordic instrument – not a supranational coercive regime. The Norwegian authorities and the elected Storting retained full and complete national control over our energy supply.
1992
The EEA Agreement is adopted. This was only possible because of the constitutional amendment back in 1962.
From now on, the duty of loyalty and the principle of primacy increasingly govern our daily lives.
2014/2015
In October 2014, it was the Progress Party’s own Minister of Petroleum and Energy, Tord Lien, who granted Statnett the licences to build both the Germany cable and the UK cable.
In 2015, the agreements were formally signed and celebrated by Statnett and the government.
June 2018
Energy Package 3 and ACER/RME (the framework itself is established): This is where the institutional foundations were laid.
The Storting voted to incorporate Energy Package 3 into the EEA Agreement amidst massive public protest. The supranational EU agency ACER was granted authority over the cross-border cables. To circumvent the Constitution, the state established the Energy Regulatory Authority (RME) as an ‘independent’ replica of ACER on Norwegian soil. In practice, the RME only takes orders directly from ACER/Brussels.
The Storting enshrined in law that neither the King in Council (the Government) nor the Ministry of Energy is permitted to instruct the RME on tasks relating to the EEA market. This is what makes RME an ‘independent replica’ on Norwegian soil.
October 2019
Protocol 31 (energy and climate merged): This is the major, forgotten turning point.
The EEA Committee amended Protocol 31 of the EEA Agreement. The amendment meant that the EU’s climate regulations were formally incorporated into the Agreement. Prior to this, energy and climate were two separate areas within the EEA. But from October 2019, they were merged into a single legal behemoth.
This marked the start of the veritable demolition that is now unfolding: since Norway is now legally obliged to meet the EU’s stringent emissions requirements and renewable energy targets through the EEA, our clean hydropower has been subject to the EU’s common accounting system.
This marked the starting point for the aggressive push for onshore wind power to ‘greenwash’ European industry.
December 2019
The EU’s Green Deal (the compass for overall governance): The European Commission presented its overarching plans for the European Green Deal here.
The goal was crystal clear: The whole of Europe is to be made climate-neutral by 2050.
To achieve this, all economic activity, industry and energy production had to be subject to supranational legislation and market mechanisms.
2020
The EU’s Twin Transition (the digitalisation of the market): The EU launched its ‘Twin Transition’ strategy – the parallel ‘green’ and digital transformations.
This is the technological link to what is happening now: the EU realised that a pan-European renewable energy market cannot be managed through manual political decisions.
The solution was to digitise the entire power grid, remove human operators, and let supranational computers and algorithms manage the flow of electricity across national borders in real time.
July 2021 – ‘Fit for 55’
The EU launched this massive legislative package to cut emissions by 55 per cent by 2030.
It is this package that contains the aggressive revisions to the Renewable Energy Directive (RED II and III), which require lightning-fast permit processing for wind power and the removal of local authority barriers.
Autumn 2021
The four market regulations (the ‘algorithm trap’): In autumn 2021, the Storting incorporated the four key market regulations (including CACM and Electricity Balancing) into Norwegian law.
These regulations are based on the Third Energy Package, but it was not until 2021 that they were legally enshrined in Norwegian law. It was at this point that politicians formally relinquished control.
These four regulations require Norwegian electricity to flow automatically based on European price signals, which paved the way for the introduction of flow-based market coupling and automated trading systems in 2024 and 2025.
2021/22
The export cables from 2014/15 were physically completed, put into trial operation and opened for commercial electricity trading.
Before 2021: We had the old cables, but we still had a significant Norwegian-specific power surplus which, for the most part, shielded Norwegian prices.
In 2021/22: The two new cables came into operation and increased Norway’s export capacity abroad by as much as 2,800 MW.
May 2022 – REPowerEU
The EU’s contingency plan following the outbreak of war in Ukraine in 2022.
The EU decided that the development of renewable energy (including wind power) should be defined as an ‘overriding public interest’.
This is the legal tool the EU uses to demand that nature conservation and local democracy be sidelined in order to rapidly roll out wind turbines and power grids.
April 2023
The government’s ‘green alliance’ (political subservience): The Støre government travelled to Brussels and signed a green alliance with the EU.
This was not a formal EEA treaty, but a binding political declaration in which Norway pledged to act as the EU’s loyal raw materials and energy partner.
Through this alliance, Norway committed itself to contributing significantly to the EU’s industrial revival by supplying as much clean energy as possible, facilitating offshore wind power, and opening up to developments that meet Europe’s needs.
Implementation in Packages 4 and 5 (2024–2026)
This entire chain – from Energy Package 3/ACER in 2018 via Protocol 31 and the algorithm decisions in 2021 – is now coming into full effect.
What we are seeing today with Energy Package 4, the infamous 70 per cent rule (which mandates that 70 per cent of cable capacity must always be open to exports) REPowerEU and the EU’s Fit for 55 are merely the end products of the trap that was set decades ago.
The current situation is therefore not due solely to a series of ‘unfortunate circumstances’ or incompetent politicians.
It is a systematic legal framework that has been hammered into place year after year to strip Norway of control over its own resources.
