The European Commission has said it will not drop its opposition to new oil and gas drilling in the Arctic, despite sustained pressure from Norway to abandon it.
A Commission spokesperson said that the EU’s approach to the moratorium “will remain unchanged” in a revised Arctic strategy. The update to the 2021 policy is due to be presented on October 20.
The spokesperson said the bloc’s policies aimed to tackle climate change and environmental degradation while supporting sustainable economic development. Asked whether the position would amount to little more than a political statement, the Commission said the process was still ongoing.
Since 2021 the European Union has committed to work towards an international moratorium on new Arctic hydrocarbon extraction. No formal ban is in place though, and the position is expected to remain non-binding.
That could spare Brussels a direct clash with Oslo at a time of tight energy supplies. Norway, which is not an EU member, provided almost a third of the bloc’s gas imports in 2025, according to Commission figures.
Norwegian output is forecast to fall in the 2030s without fresh discoveries, most of which are expected in the northern Barents Sea. Oslo has presented Arctic exploration as insurance for Europe as energy prices climb in the wake of the war with Iran.
Norwegian Energy Minister Terje Aasland said in August that Norway would keep developing its Arctic resources whatever the EU decided. He argued that continued activity in the Barents Sea served both Norwegian and European interests.
The International Energy Agency (IEA) has also urged a rethink. After meeting Norwegian Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg in Brussels on July 9, IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said: “The world needs every drop of oil from Norway.”
Stoltenberg acknowledged environmental concerns at the time but said a blanket rejection of Arctic exploration made no sense for his country.
The Commission has found support elsewhere. In 2021 Germany, Sweden and Finland broadly backed its view that new oil and gas reserves should stay in the ground, according to Euronews.
In May, a group of Nordic investors urged the EU to hold firm, warning of spill risks in one of the planet’s most fragile ecosystems. They also said the Barents Sea’s proximity to Russia made energy infrastructure there a possible target for hybrid warfare.
Meanwhile, French President Emmanuel Macron has called a G7 meeting on energy, where a second release of emergency oil stocks could be discussed, Euronews reported.
