Norway's Green Party speaks out against cuts to the new Viking Age Museum: "We need to secure the ships" 

The party believes that the Viking ships could be destroyed and demands that the cuts be removed, news bureau NTB reports.

"It is long overdue to protect the ships and ensure that they are taken care of," deputy head Arild Hermstad of the Green Party told Khrono.

In May, the Norwegian government presented the proposal for a revised national budget for 2022. In it, Minister of Research and Higher Education Ola Borten Moe stated that the costs of building the new Viking Age Museum in Oslo must be reduced by NOK 1 billion.

Hermstad: We need to secure the Viking ships

Hermstad, on the other hand, thinks it is wrong of the government to create uncertainty about the realization of the Viking Age Museum project.

"We have to prioritize funds to move forward with the project so that we do not risk the ships being destroyed. It would be extremely embarrassing for Norway if we are not able to take care of these cultural monuments," Hermstad said.

Therefore, the Green Party demands that the budget cut proposed by the government is scrapped from the budget plan for 2022. 

"Of course, it is not good that the cost framework for the project has increased, but if we do not allocate money now, we risk that a very important part of our cultural heritage rots and is destroyed forever. 

"The ships need to be rehabilitated urgently, and the funds must be allocated in the revised national budget. In fact, it may be too late for some of the ships at the next state budget round," Hermstad told NTB.