Today in Norway: A roundup of the latest news on Monday
Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre delivers New Year's speech, experts unbothered by possibility of recession, and other news from Norway on Monday.
Prime Minister Støre calls for unity in New Year's speech
In his New Year's speech, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said that the turmoil from 2022 would accompany society into 2023 and encouraged Norwegians to stick together.
"What we have long taken for granted, such as progress and stability, is no longer taken for granted. We get worried when there is war in our immediate areas. When interest rates rise. When everything we need becomes more expensive. And when it becomes more difficult to make plans for the future.
"Then, it is even more important that we stand together in our country," Støre said in the televised speech on the first day of the year.
"The turmoil we felt in 2022 is still here," he noted.
Expert: Not dramatic if there is a recession in Norway this year
There may be a recession in Norway this year, but if a recession occurs, it will happen after significant growth and will not be dramatic, DNB's chief economist Kjersti Haugland said.
On New Year's Day, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned against recession in half of the EU and a third of the global economy.
DNB has not forecast a recession in Norway this year, but it could happen, Haugland stated.
"Norway is influenced by the outside world. When it's bad out there, it's bad in Norway too. It would not be surprising if there were a recession in Norway," she told the news bureau NTB.
"But it would be after a period of low unemployment and high economic activity. That means that the situation would be less dramatic than if we had initially been in a situation with higher unemployment and bad times," she said.
Norway received over 36,000 asylum seekers from Ukraine last year
In 2022, some 36,000 asylum seekers from Ukraine were registered in Norway. In addition, around 5,500 asylum seekers have arrived from other countries.
A total of 17,000 women and around 11,000 children came to Norway from Ukraine last year, according to the figures from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI).
In addition to the Ukrainian war refugees, around 5,500 asylum seekers from other countries have come to Norway.
Around 700 of the asylum seekers have stated that they are single and underage. Almost everyone in this group is from either Afghanistan or Syria.
Complete halt in F-35 deliveries – deliveries to Norway also affected?
After an F-35B crash-landed at Fort Worth in Texas two weeks ago, Lockheed Martin has stopped all deliveries.
Norway is scheduled to receive six F-35s during 2023. Now the Norwegian Defense Forces admit that they are uncertain about what will happen with the deliveries, the newspaper Finansavisen writes.
"We are aware of the incident with an F-35B and that Lockheed Martin has decided to put some aircraft on the ground," Stine Barclay Gaasland, spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces, told the newspaper.
In the week before Christmas and New Year, Lockheed Martin stopped all test flights.
Barclay Gaasland says that Norway has flown all Norwegian F-35s during the said period, and no circumstances have been found that indicate that the Norwegian planes were affected by the problems that led to the crash landing.
"It is too early to say whether the temporary halt in deliveries of new aircraft will affect Norwegian deliveries in 2023," she added.
To date, Norway has received 37 of a total of 52 purchased aircraft at a purchase cost of 64 billion kroner.
Comments
See Also
Prime Minister Støre calls for unity in New Year's speech
In his New Year's speech, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said that the turmoil from 2022 would accompany society into 2023 and encouraged Norwegians to stick together.
"What we have long taken for granted, such as progress and stability, is no longer taken for granted. We get worried when there is war in our immediate areas. When interest rates rise. When everything we need becomes more expensive. And when it becomes more difficult to make plans for the future.
"Then, it is even more important that we stand together in our country," Støre said in the televised speech on the first day of the year.
"The turmoil we felt in 2022 is still here," he noted.
Expert: Not dramatic if there is a recession in Norway this year
There may be a recession in Norway this year, but if a recession occurs, it will happen after significant growth and will not be dramatic, DNB's chief economist Kjersti Haugland said.
On New Year's Day, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned against recession in half of the EU and a third of the global economy.
DNB has not forecast a recession in Norway this year, but it could happen, Haugland stated.
"Norway is influenced by the outside world. When it's bad out there, it's bad in Norway too. It would not be surprising if there were a recession in Norway," she told the news bureau NTB.
"But it would be after a period of low unemployment and high economic activity. That means that the situation would be less dramatic than if we had initially been in a situation with higher unemployment and bad times," she said.
Norway received over 36,000 asylum seekers from Ukraine last year
In 2022, some 36,000 asylum seekers from Ukraine were registered in Norway. In addition, around 5,500 asylum seekers have arrived from other countries.
A total of 17,000 women and around 11,000 children came to Norway from Ukraine last year, according to the figures from the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI).
In addition to the Ukrainian war refugees, around 5,500 asylum seekers from other countries have come to Norway.
Around 700 of the asylum seekers have stated that they are single and underage. Almost everyone in this group is from either Afghanistan or Syria.
Complete halt in F-35 deliveries – deliveries to Norway also affected?
After an F-35B crash-landed at Fort Worth in Texas two weeks ago, Lockheed Martin has stopped all deliveries.
Norway is scheduled to receive six F-35s during 2023. Now the Norwegian Defense Forces admit that they are uncertain about what will happen with the deliveries, the newspaper Finansavisen writes.
"We are aware of the incident with an F-35B and that Lockheed Martin has decided to put some aircraft on the ground," Stine Barclay Gaasland, spokesperson for the Norwegian Armed Forces, told the newspaper.
In the week before Christmas and New Year, Lockheed Martin stopped all test flights.
Barclay Gaasland says that Norway has flown all Norwegian F-35s during the said period, and no circumstances have been found that indicate that the Norwegian planes were affected by the problems that led to the crash landing.
"It is too early to say whether the temporary halt in deliveries of new aircraft will affect Norwegian deliveries in 2023," she added.
To date, Norway has received 37 of a total of 52 purchased aircraft at a purchase cost of 64 billion kroner.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.