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– The government now has enough information to conclude that the process of selling Bergen Engines to TMH should be stopped. This is to ensure that national security interests are not threatened, the Justice Ministry writes in a press release on Tuesday.
The case concerns the planned sale of the Bergen Engines engine factory to the Russian-controlled company TMH International, where the two oligarchs Iskander Makhmudov and Andrej Bokarev are among the owners. The two are said to have connections to the Russian authorities.
– We are aware that TMH Group has connections with the Russian authorities. This is an issue the government has taken very seriously, Mæland said during a statement in the Storting on Tuesday.
– Over time, the government has worked to map all matters related to the possible sale of Bergen Engines. In this process, the work of the EOS service has been absolutely central. We now believe that we have enough information to conclude that it is absolutely necessary to prevent the company from being sold to a company that is controlled from a country with which we do not have cooperation on security matters, says Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Monica Mæland in the press release.
Four conditions
The Ministry of Justice highlights four issues that have been fundamental to the Government’s evaluations:
- That the technology owned by Bergen Engines and the engines they produce would have had great military strategic importance for Russia, and would have strengthened Russia’s military capabilities in a way that would be clearly contrary to the interests of Norwegian and Allied security policy.
- Although these are products and technologies that are not covered by export control lists, Russia has had significant challenges accessing them since Western sanctions against the country were introduced in 2014.
- The planned acquisition could lead to attempts to circumvent export control regulations or our restrictive measures against Russia, in order to covertly gain access to knowledge and technology of great military strategic importance to Russia.
- Exporting the technology and engines to Russia would be contrary to the interests of Norwegian and Allied security policies.
– Overall, the government believes that national security interests could be threatened if ownership of Bergen Engines is transferred from Rolls-Royce to TMH. Therefore, a proposal for a decision to stop the sale in accordance with Security Law § 2-5 will be submitted to the King in the Council on Friday, March 26, 2021, says Minister of Justice and Emergency Management Mæland in the report, which states that the government has had a positive dialogue with British-owned Rolls-Royce.
Security challenges
One of the conditions mentioned above is that a sale would have great military strategic importance for Russia. Norwegian Defense Minister Frank Bakke-Jensen believes the government’s opportunities to intervene in such situations help preserve Norway as a safe country.
– I am concerned about the security challenges posed by foreign acquisitions. This case shows that the new security law works. We have tools to handle this type of situation so that together we can preserve Norway as a safe and independent nation, it says in the press release.
Mæland also expressed concern about what a sale would mean for Norway’s security when he explained the suspension of the sale on Tuesday.
– A sale would have strengthened Russian military capabilities in a way that would be clearly contrary to the interests of Norwegian and Allied security policy, he said.
– Our assessment is that the technology owned by Bergen Engines and the engines they produce would be of great military and strategic importance to Russia, he added.
Critical
Several politicians criticize how the government has handled the issue, including Emilie Enger Mehl of the Center Party.
This attracted particular attention when the Ministry of Commerce and Industry stated that it viewed the sale as a matter between two commercial actors and something that the ministry could not or should not interfere with.
– It is very disturbing to think about what could have happened if the case had not been revealed in the media. After trivializing national security for several weeks, the Conservatives have launched a restructuring operation at the 12 hour, it states and is followed by Frp:
– The fact that the government has spent four months on the evaluation is a danger sign, believes Christian Tybring-Gjedde.
SV also believes that the case is characterized by explanations.
– Now the Storting must have clarity in the big picture. Why were the government’s signals so contradictory? asks party leader Audun Lysbakken.(Terms)Copyright Dagens Næringsliv AS and / or our suppliers. We would like you to share our cases via a link, which leads directly to our pages. Copying or other use of all or part of the content can only be done with written permission or as permitted by law. For more terms, see here.
