Was it sufficient that a general majority of the representatives of the Storting said yes to the third energy market package when Norway became part of the Acer collaboration in 2018? Or was the transfer of power so extensive that the rule in the Constitution regarding a qualified majority should be invoked? That is the question that the highest judges in the country are deciding on today. You can see the Supreme Court’s treatment of the case here. Previously, Oslo District Court and Borgarting Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the state. The Court of Appeal wrote that he had no doubts about the verdict, but that the case raised unsettled questions of considerable societal interest, so that legal costs should not be awarded. The weight of the case meant that the Supreme Court fielded as many as 17 out of 20 judges. The verdict can put an end to a year-long legal dispute. Photo: Gorm Kallestad / NTB – The EU-controlled market regime has given us an electricity price crisis Behind the question of “constitutionality” lie deeper questions about electricity prices, “heritage silver”, jobs and national sovereignty. At the top, the case raises questions about the principle of separation of powers and the role of the Supreme Court. The courts must control the people elected, but not over-examine them. That balance can be very delicate. “In my opinion, it goes against the rule of law if the courts should not under any circumstances be able to test whether a political majority stays within the limits of the Constitution in an area like this”, stated the Supreme Court when it agreed to hear the case in 2021. Legally, No to the EU argued along several axes: Firstly, they claim that the Storting majority was wrong when it assumed that Acer’s power is limited to situations where the states are not in agreement. Furthermore, they argue that the effect of relinquishing sovereignty to international organizations must be based on the total sum – not each individual transfer. As part of the EEA agreement, Norway has introduced many thousands of European legal acts. In only two of the cases has the Constitution’s provision for a three-quarters majority come into play. The first time was the registration itself in the EEA; the second time was when Norway introduced the EU’s regulation of the financial markets. Facts about Acer *Acer stands for Agency for the Cooperation of Energy Regulators – the agency for cooperation between regulatory authorities. * Acer is part of the energy cooperation in the EU. ACER must ensure a level playing field and that the different countries’ regulatory authorities (in Norway it is NVE) work together. * Acer must ensure that European countries comply with the rules for power exchange in Europe. The agency must interpret the regulations and create guidelines for the power markets. * The EU’s third energy market package is a bundle of legal acts from 2009 which further develops the internal market for energy. Norway joined the package in a vote in the Storting in 2018. * No to the EU taking legal action against the state following the decision in the Storting. The dispute is over whether the Storting should only cede sovereignty to the EU with a simple majority, or whether a three-quarters majority was needed. * No to the EU lost the case in the Oslo District Court and in the Borgarting Court of Appeal. * On 5 September, the case was taken up in the Supreme Court in plenary session. (Source: NTB) The stated and overarching goal of the plaintiff No to the EU has been to “take back political control by force, without the EU-controlled market regime that has given us a power price crisis”. Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB Støre: – Regulated trade cooperation is very important To the extent that the dispute over the third energy market package is over, the battle over the fourth Acer package has only just begun. The Labor Party is basically positive about the package, while party leader in the Center Party, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, has said that it is out of the question to sit in a government that introduces it. This is how Norway has become more closely connected to Europe with power cables.Norway is part of a power market that is connected to Sweden, Denmark, Great Britain, Germany, Poland, Russia, the Netherlands and the Baltic countries with cables. The aim is to even out price differences and to strengthen energy security. A high-voltage power line transmits power from Sør-Trøndelag to Jämtland in Sweden for the first time. Since then, several lines have been built to Sweden and Finland. The submarine cables Skagerrak 1 and 2 were installed in the summer of 1976 and 1977. The transmission capacity was 500 megawatts. Since then, Norway has received two new cables to Denmark in 1993 and 2014. The power market was opened up with the Energy Act. Prices for power were to be governed by supply and demand. Sweden and Norway formed a joint power exchange, which Finland and Denmark later joined. The Nordned cable between Norway and the Netherlands will open in April 2008. The capacity is 700 megawatts. The fourth cable, Skagerrak 4, opened between Kristiansand and Tjele in Denmark at the turn of the year. Then the transmission capacity between the countries increased from 1,000 to 1,700 megawatts. The Solberg government decides to build a cable to Germany and Great Britain, each of 1400 megawatts. In December, trial operation of Nordlink, which runs between southern Norway and Germany, began. Since March 2021, the cable has been in normal operation. The capacity is 1400 megawatts. The cable between Suldal in Rogaland and Newcastle in the UK opened in October 2021. The transmission capacity is 1400 megawatts. Show more Last year SP put forward a proposal in the Storting to “start the process of withdrawing Norway from the EU’s energy agency (Acer)”. – Norway is a small, open economy. And as a major exporter of gas, it is important for Norway to have orderly market conditions and equal terms of competition, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre when he addressed the Confederation’s national meeting last week. He then received a response to accusations from the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions, which decided that Norway must break with European energy cooperation and stop “talking to Brussels”. – The large foreign cables to England and Germany are the triggering reason for the decision to withdraw from Acer, explained Federation leader Jørn Eggum. – As a major exporter of gas, it is important for Norway to have orderly market conditions and equal conditions of competition, said Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre when he addressed the Confederation’s national meeting last week.
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