– We went wide and asked questions about how the government had handled the initial phase of the war. The responses we received revealed that something had been handled well. But certain parts were, in our opinion, handled shockingly poorly, says Høyre’s Peter Frølich to news. He chairs the Storting’s Control and Constitution Committee. This week the committee sent a number of new questions to the government about the handling of Ukraine. The opposition demands an answer to whether Ukraine’s many pleas for Norwegian help have been sufficiently answered. – We saw signs of a lack of coordination and action. Particularly long consumption and some incomprehensible cases of requests not being acknowledged, says Frølich. CRITICAL: The control committee’s leader Peter Frølich demands answers to how the government has handled the many requests from Ukraine for aid. Photo: Terje Pedersen / NTB Pointing to Støre Frølich, it is possible that the case could end up in a control hearing at the Storting. But first the committee will process the responses from Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap), Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) and Justice Minister Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp). The three government members basically have until Tuesday to respond. Frølich does not rule out that the prime minister himself will have to be on the field. – If there has been a lack of coordination that has turned out to be extensive, the responsibility for coordination rests with the person most responsible, he says. – Will Støre have to answer for himself at some point here? – I cannot rule that out. So far, we have put questions to the various line ministries. But it may be appropriate to ask him questions as well, if the letters we now have do not provide sufficient answers. The top right wing believes that Norwegian aid to Ukraine has been “strong in an international context”. He emphasizes that the Conservative Party is not critical of the entire effort. – But it is clear that when parts of the handling bear the stamp of insufficient coordination and action, we must get to the bottom of what could be the cause, he says. WAR: Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre (Ap) visited Chernihiv and other cities in Ukraine this summer. Photo: Javad Parsa / NTB Wounded soldiers The questions that a combined control committee sent the government on Tuesday run along a number of different tracks. But in summary, the concern is linked to the following conditions: Lack of coordination Slow handling Weak flow of information to the Storting – What has crystallized as perhaps the most serious point is the handling of injured Ukrainian soldiers, says Frølich. Dagbladet described earlier this year how the export came to a halt, for which the government has subsequently taken self-criticism. – First they took a very long time to clarify the question in April. And after the public criticism in May and June, they chose in July to completely stop the evacuation of Ukrainian soldiers to Norway. It was left for two and a half months before it was resumed, says Frølich. The first wounded soldiers arrived in Norway on 12 June this year. Here are the questions the government must answer To Foreign Minister Anniken Huitfeldt (Ap): Can the ministry provide an overview of all aid requests that the government has received after 24 June 2022, either through the EU’s scheme for civil preparedness or through other channels, which relate to the war in Ukraine and the prelude to this? Can the Ministry provide a separate list of all requests for the evacuation of wounded soldiers from Ukraine? Can the ministry provide an update on the processing of the aid requests that had not been answered when the Minister for Foreign Affairs gave an answer to the committee in a letter of 24 June 2022? To Minister of Justice Emilie Enger Mehl (Sp): It appears from the Minister of Foreign Affairs’ reply letter that on 29 April 2022 the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Preparedness instructed DSB not to submit any more offers for the treatment of wounded Ukrainian soldiers, as the reception of wounded Ukrainian soldiers raised several principles , practical and legal issues. Specifically, which issues did the Ministry of Justice and Emergency Management need to investigate? At what point were the various issues fully resolved? The committee refers to the request to the police at Kripos on 16 March 2022 for, among other things, first aid equipment for the Ukrainian police. The committee requests an account of the processing of the aid request, which gives an overview of how time was used in the various ministries, and what this time was used for. To Minister of Health and Care Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) – regarding the reception of wounded Ukrainian soldiers: What routine changes have been implemented to ensure the necessary priority and progress in such cases in the future? The committee asks to be sent all relevant communication on the communication with the Ukrainian authorities (directly or mediated through the EU) dealing with deductibles for treatment of Ukrainian medevac patients? – Incomprehensible In an email to VG earlier this month, Health Minister Ingvild Kjerkol (Ap) complained that it took too long to get injured soldiers from Ukraine to Norway. – As the process for this took time, we have now looked at our routines in the ministry to be able to follow up on cases more quickly in the future, Kjerkol wrote in the email. Frølich is at pains to understand how the exportation could stop. – It appears completely incomprehensible. In addition, the flow of information to the Storting on this matter has been criticised, says the Conservative representative. Hitting back State Secretary Eivind Vad Petersson (Ap) says the government must of course answer the Storting’s questions in this matter. And comes with a jab back at the Conservative Party and the previous government: – Ukraine already asked in 2016 if the Norwegian authorities could help with the treatment of injured soldiers in Norway. The government at the time said no, says Vad Pedersen to news. He says that in 2019 a Norwegian-Ukrainian collaboration was instead established to support the Ukrainian health sector. – Why the request was rejected and it took three years to establish an alternative must be answered by the then government, he says. Norway has so far accepted 104 patients from Ukraine for treatment. – In addition, Norway has contributed with the transport of 324 patients from Ukraine to other European countries. This means that one from the Norwegian side accounts for approx. 20 per cent of the total number of transports, says the state secretary. In total, around 1,600 patients have been evacuated from Ukraine to European countries, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Explained Foreign Minister Huitfeldt sent a long letter to the control committee in June. There she explained the government’s handling of requests for help from Ukraine. “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has coordinated the work on the distribution of funds. Decisions on support have been made in consultation with the ministers and ministries concerned,” it says. Norway has given support to Ukraine through a number of different UN organizations and voluntary organisations. At the same time, Norway has responded to several of Ukraine’s requests that have been taken up with the EU’s scheme for civil preparedness (UCPM). These contributions affect the responsibilities of several ministries and agencies. In the review, it appears that many concrete requests to various ministries had not been answered. The control committee is now working to find out which pleas for help have possibly been refused from the Norwegian side. But Norwegian arms support to Ukraine is not part of the control committee’s investigations.
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– Shockingly weak – news Norway – Overview of news from different parts of the country
