By Bond Robertson 
Monitoring drones at oil facilities, airports and military bases has alarmed many Norwegians in recent weeks.
At least eight Russian citizens have been arrested for possibly flying illegal drones, and the police are on extra alert. The main guard was also called in to guard the facility.
In several cases, Justice and Emergency Services Minister Emily Inger Mehl (Sp) has boasted that the government has provided an additional 57 million NOK to the police to combat unwanted drone activity.
He thinks Norway is not well prepared: – It is clearly being taken advantage of
money promise
Mehl said at a press conference on the situation in Ukraine last week.
It is important, in addition to the preparedness and equipment the police already have, that we continue to enhance preparedness going forward. That is why we believe it is right to give 57 million Norwegian kroner to purchase more anti-drone equipment for the police, the Minister of Justice told Dagbladet after the press conference.
But this item is not in the state budget for 2022 or 2023.
In a response to Parliament, Mehl wrote:
“The measure on counter-drone equipment will be implemented this year and is therefore not part of the government’s proposed budget for 2023. The government will return to Parliament on this issue in relation to the new balance sheet this year.”
Concerned after the drone boom
– Not Found
The new balance Mehl is referring to only takes place after the adoption of the national budget and until Christmas. It must also be adopted by a majority in Parliament.
The head of the Parliament’s Justice Committee, Per Willie Amundsen (France) believes that the money did not reach the police.
– No, this money does not exist. They are not in the state budget for 2022 and not for next year. That’s not the money available to the police now, Amundsen tells Dagbladet.
In an interview with Dagbladet last week, Mehl said that over time the government became aware of the intelligence threat and the danger of using sophisticated means against Norway.
Amundsen, on the other hand, believes that Mehl and the government may have acted too late against the drone threat.
– This indicates that this is a measure that has been implemented in recent weeks. It should have started a long time ago.
Beware of hidden Russian assets
– Running after
The Euphrates Front leader, who previously held Mehl as Minister of Justice, believes that she and the government will follow when new events and threats are known. He points to the drone notes and the man accused of espionage in Tromsø.
Explains how the Department of Justice became event-driven under the leadership of Emily Inger Mehl and the Government of the Reds and Greens. You seem to be chased from stronghold to stronghold at all points. This is not how the Norwegian standby should work. Those events happen and then you run after them. reveal itself. She is always in the back. You have to be ahead of the curve, says Amundsen.
– can be dropped
According to the FRP politician, Solberg’s government started an anti-drone pilot project while in power, but Mehl did not continue the work.
Justice Minister Emily Inger Mehl responded that the police have the resources they need and are working to combat illegal flying by drones.
The police have already been tasked with making purchases to enhance the police’s ability to deal with the illegal use of drones. It’s not in the state budget for 2023, because the measure will be implemented in 2022. We believe it can’t wait until 2023, and it will return to budget implications in the new balance for 2022, Mehl writes in an email to Dagbladet.
shoot them down
– You should look in the mirror
In response to criticism of the Solberg government’s drone project, it responded that it had been completed and that permanent capacity had been set up and was fully operational.
In addition, the Center Party and the Labor Party allocated funds in 2022 to give police districts enhanced drone capacity, including through the training of about 100 pilots and drones, Mehl wrote.
She also directs the ball back to Amundsen, believing he was not at all looking forward as he thought the government should be.
– Amundsen’s choice of words on this matter shall be at his own expense. If he wants to be criticized for not getting ahead of the curve, he has to look at himself in the mirror. For example, the government is providing notification of mobile residents by the end of 2022, an important measure for notifying people in crises that the Office of Dispute Resolution recommended in 2017. At the time, Amundsen himself was the Minister of Justice, Mehl wrote.
Mehl adds that the situation between Russia and Ukraine has escalated, and they are constantly considering new measures.