Brussels continues to cut ties with Moscow. Russia was expelled from the Council of the Baltic Sea States; the work of the Arctic Council, where Russia is the chairman until 2023, has been frozen.
However, not all Nordic countries want to break connections with Russia. Norway advocated the preservation of common programs that operated even during the Cold War.
Norway and Russia have been exchanging scientific information on the ecology of the Barents Sea since 1958. And since 1974, they have been jointly regulating the ecosystem of the sea. To do this, Norway and Russia have agreed on quotas for catching fish in order to regulate its population.
The quota system worked effectively for almost half a century. But now Norwegian-Russian relations are threatened by European sanctions. Norway is not a member of the European Union, but it acts as one on strategic issues.
One of these issues is a ban on Russian ports to enter European ports. So far, such a ban is only being discussed. But if Russian flags are banned from ports, it will lead to an ecological disaster in the Barents Sea.This was directly stated by the Minister of Fisheries of Norway, Bjornar Skjaran.
Norway alone will not be able to regulate the number of fish. In addition, in the event of the closure of ports for fishermen, Russia will be forced to raise taxes on the catch. And this will cause, in addition to the ecological one, an economic blow to the Arctic.