Trygve Slagsvold Vedum on Stoltenberg’s warning: –

Justice and Emergency Management Minister Monica Mæland reacts strongly to criticism from the SP leader:

– At no time this year have we had any shortages of food, no fish or agricultural products, therefore I don’t think that the Center Party’s grain storage would have better prepared us for a pandemic, says Mæland.

In an interview with Dagbladet this weekend, NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg expressed concern about the poor preparedness of member countries for the pandemic. He urged countries to strengthen their emergency preparedness for food, medicine, medical equipment and critical infrastructure.

“We must prevent a health crisis from turning into a security crisis,” he said.

Stoltenberg also warned against relying on deliveries from countries like China.

SP leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum says it is important for the NATO chief to be clear on this message.

Must have food storage

– I agree with him. We must have emergency stocks and a plan for the unthinkable. It has no history not having shock absorbers. We also pay for fire insurance, although we hope we never need it. Stoltenberg’s message also reaches Norway, especially since we have a large food import. We produce 50 percent of what we eat ourselves. Sp has mentioned several times in the Storting that we are too vulnerable and that we have too few emergency stocks of socially critical things, Vedum tells Dagbladet.

Vile sp:

* Create grain storage for at least 6 months.

* Establish agreements between private companies and the state on the production of medicines and medical equipment in a crisis

* Ensure national ownership of key companies and natural resources.

* Establish a total emergency commission

Blind marking

Call food prep

– We were concerned before the corona pandemic, but everyone sees this need now, Vedum tells Dagbladet. He continues:

– This government has had a naive attitude towards preparing for emergencies. Conservatives and Greens have had blind faith in the global marketplace. But the market stops working when there is a crisis.

Vedum points out that Sp has presented several times, also this year, proposals in the Storting to strengthen preparation, such as restoring food grain stocks, which the government parties and the FRP have rejected.

Sp will also establish larger stocks of medical equipment.

Produce in Norway

– We do not need to have a state pharmaceutical industry, but we must have contingency plans and agreements with private companies in Norway that can, for example, develop and produce vaccines under license. If, for example, we had more access to face masks in March, we would have had more options for action, says Vedum.

– This time it was a pandemic that hit us. Next time, it could be a supply crisis and a food crisis. Contingency is about being prepared for the unexpected, says Vedum.

He says it is also obvious, as Stoltenberg points out, that the preparation of a society is crucial to the defense capacity of the country.

– Do not sell

– The Armed Forces rest 100 percent on society. Defense capacity depends on the whole of society. Therefore, we must have security of supply and have national ownership of key companies and natural resources. During the corona pandemic we have seen how important having a headquarters in Norway has been when we have negotiated crisis packages for the business community.

It is important to our total defense capacity that we have control and management of food, health and energy. We must be very conscious of not selling ourselves, that the ports, for example, do not end up in foreign hands. We know that northern Norway is strategically important. All the great powers are in the zone. So we must own our ports. We are not capital poor in Norway, so we don’t need to sell, says Vedum.

– Vedum spreads fear

Mæland: – We have cleaned

Justice and Emergency Management Minister Monica Mæland distances herself from Vedum’s criticism:

– I must say that I react strongly to what Vedum says. The government has cleaned up emergency preparedness work after eight years with the Center Party in government: 3,000 more employees in the police, three new police helicopters and a new emergency center that ensures that the best police officers we have receive a world-class training. Additionally, the state budget for next year proposes money for 500 emergency personnel across the country to train at the center each year. None of this was in place when the Center Party was in government, Mæland writes in an email to Dagbladet.

He points out that the crown commission is in the process of evaluating the government’s crisis management.

– We will take the debate on this when the committee’s report is available. That being said, at no point this year have we had any shortages of food, no fish or agricultural products, therefore I don’t think the Center Party’s grain storage would have better prepared us for a pandemic, says Mæland.

– Norway is going well

When asked whether Norway should be affected by NATO Commander Jens Stoltenberg’s warnings, Mæland responds:

– The government has appointed the crown commission to evaluate the preparedness and management of the authorities for the pandemic. So it won’t be right for me now to make an assessment of this, but I would like to mention that NATO regularly assesses defense planning in the alliance, and Norway has done well in recent reviews.

– In 2016, NATO concluded that Norway has a strong approach to civilian preparedness and that the implementation of NATO’s seven core expectations was well on track. NATO’s assessment in 2019 was even more positive in its description of civilian readiness and emphasizes the importance of the work that has been launched and will continue, Mæland says.

He also notes that he recently submitted a social security report to the Storting. Civil / military cooperation and total defense are an area of ​​focus.

Note on China

The Minister of Justice and Emergency Management responds to Stoltenberg’s warning against over-reliance on China:

– We are aware of this. In the recent social security report, we pointed out the changes in social and technological development, where it is noted, among other things, that China is a country that emerges as a global superpower and increasingly defines and influences the international agenda, he says Mæland.