Key Takeaways
- • A government-appointed commission chaired by former Norges Bank governor Svein Gjedrem proposed on Thursday, 15 October 2026, that Norway's roughly €2 trillion sovereign wealth fund be allowed to invest in nuclear arms makers based in NPT-recognised nuclear-weapon states that are NATO allies of Norway.
- • The proposal would reverse current exclusions of 14 companies, including Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Safran, which are currently barred for developing or making nuclear weapons or their components.
- • Gjedrem said the change would bring "several British, French and American arms manufacturers" back into the fund's investable universe.
- • The report's recommendations will undergo public consultation until 15 January, with the government due to present its assessment to parliament next spring.
- • The commission also proposed stripping the Council on Ethics of its power to directly recommend exclusions, while leaving its risk-assessment role intact; some left-leaning parties have already criticised the report.
Summary
Norway's sovereign wealth fund, the world's largest, may soon be permitted to invest in major Western defence groups it currently excludes over nuclear weapons production, according to a report from a government-appointed commission reviewed by Euronews and AFP. The commission proposed the change on Thursday as part of a review of the fund's ethical guidelines, which the Norwegian government ordered in November 2025. The 434-page report was chaired by former central bank governor Svein Gjedrem and was submitted to Finance Minister Jens Stoltenberg, a former NATO secretary general.
Under current ethical guidelines, the fund excludes 14 companies that develop or manufacture nuclear weapons or their components, including Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Safran. The proposed exemption would allow investment in nuclear arms makers headquartered in a nuclear-weapon state recognised under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that is also a NATO ally of Norway. Gjedrem said this would restore several British, French and American manufacturers to the portfolio. Other exclusion criteria, covering biological and chemical weapons, landmines, cluster munitions, coal, tobacco and cannabis, would be retained.
Stoltenberg described "the paradox" that the fund cannot invest in companies that could be crucial to Norway's security, at a time when Russia is increasingly threatening to use nuclear weapons and China is expanding its arsenal. The commission also recommended changes to the Council on Ethics, the independent body that advises Norges Bank, which manages the fund. The council would keep its role in assessing the risk of serious ethical violations but would no longer directly recommend exclusions, a power that is already suspended pending the review.
The recommendations are open for public consultation until 15 January, after which the government will present its assessment to parliament next spring. Some political parties, particularly on the left, have already criticised the proposal, with one Green official calling it "utterly senseless". The fund invests in more than 7,000 companies worldwide and holds around 1.5% of the world's listed shares.
Under current ethical guidelines, the fund excludes 14 companies that develop or manufacture nuclear weapons or their components, including Airbus, BAE Systems, Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Safran. The proposed exemption would allow investment in nuclear arms makers headquartered in a nuclear-weapon state recognised under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that is also a NATO ally of Norway. Gjedrem said this would restore several British, French and American manufacturers to the portfolio. Other exclusion criteria, covering biological and chemical weapons, landmines, cluster munitions, coal, tobacco and cannabis, would be retained.
Stoltenberg described "the paradox" that the fund cannot invest in companies that could be crucial to Norway's security, at a time when Russia is increasingly threatening to use nuclear weapons and China is expanding its arsenal. The commission also recommended changes to the Council on Ethics, the independent body that advises Norges Bank, which manages the fund. The council would keep its role in assessing the risk of serious ethical violations but would no longer directly recommend exclusions, a power that is already suspended pending the review.
The recommendations are open for public consultation until 15 January, after which the government will present its assessment to parliament next spring. Some political parties, particularly on the left, have already criticised the proposal, with one Green official calling it "utterly senseless". The fund invests in more than 7,000 companies worldwide and holds around 1.5% of the world's listed shares.
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