The country had been poised to become the first in Europe to launch deep-sea mining in its territorial waters. However, after complex negotiations, Norway’s minority Labor government reached an agreement with smaller political allies that grants the coalition a majority to pass its 2026 budget in exchange for the postponement.
Under the deal, the government will not open tenders for deep-sea mining during the current legislative term, which runs until 2029. The agreement gained support from two key parties early Wednesday morning.