Norway is weighing the possibility of utilizing its €1.7 trillion sovereign wealth fund to provide a substantial increase in support for Ukraine.

The publication Euractiv reported on this.

Norway is exploring the potential of tapping into its sovereign wealth fund to substantially boost aid to Ukraine, in response to indications of a reduction in U.S. military support.

Norway’s sovereign wealth fund, the largest in the world, stands at an impressive €1.7 trillion, bolstered by €109 billion in gains from rising gas prices in 2022-2023. In 2024, the fund achieved a record profit of $222 billion.

“Norway is among the few nations with substantial financial resources, and it is crucial that we increase our support for Ukraine without delay,” stated Liberal Party leader Guri Melby on March 1.

Both the Liberal Party and the Socialist Left Party have called for an emergency parliamentary session, though they are currently awaiting the government’s proposal. Meanwhile, the leader of the Green Party, which holds a 2.7% approval rating, has once again proposed allocating €85.5 billion to Ukraine.

“We will soon put forward a proposal in parliament to significantly increase our support for Ukraine,” announced Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre.

Since 2001, Norway has faithfully followed a budgetary rule, limiting annual spending from its sovereign wealth fund to no more than 4%, and later 3%. However, the concept of more actively utilizing the fund to support Ukraine and bolster European defense spending is gaining increasing support across the country.

One proposal suggests converting approximately €300 billion of the fund’s liquid bonds into European defense bonds, with the condition that these funds be used solely to strengthen European defense.

However, Norway’s Minister of Finance has cautioned against straying from the established budgetary rules. “It would be a risky move to deviate from the budget rule in order to allocate more funds to Ukraine,” he stated on February 7.

However, as the publication highlights, even without altering the budget rules, Norway has the capacity to substantially boost its level of assistance. According to the deputy chairman of the Liberal Party, a proposal is already before parliament to increase aid to NOK 100 billion in 2025, raising support for Ukraine from €3 billion to €11.5 billion.

At the end of February 2025, the Norwegian government announced it would allocate NOK 3.5 billion (€300 million) to purchase military equipment directly from the Ukrainian defense industry.

In 2025, the Norwegian government plans to provide Ukraine with approximately €2 billion in military assistance, along with an additional €1 billion for humanitarian support.