OSLO: Norway's minority right-wing government said on Monday it agreed to make electricity consumption and air fares more expensive in 2016 to help pay for a record inflow of asylum seekers and secured a majority in parliament for next year's fiscal budget.
The ruling coalition of the Conservative Party and the smaller Progress Party won the backing of the centrist Liberals and the Christian Democrats, the four parties announced at a joint news conference.
The estimated spending from the country's sovereign wealth fund remained unchanged at 195.2 billion Norwegian crowns ($22.53 billion) compared with the government's proposal last month, they added. A tax on air fares, estimated to bring in 1.1 billion Norwegian crowns, was among the new measures, as was a hike in electricity taxes of about 890 million crowns, budget documents showed.
The deal also required state owned companies, including power company Statkraft and rail operator NSB, to pay extra dividends to help fund public spending.
The government's original budget plan, published on Oct. 7, was amended on Oct. 30 to take into account the rise in asylum applications, and has since been the subject of negotiations to agree a final deal.
The Nordic country of 5.2 million people expects the number of Syrians, Afghans and others seeking refuge from conflicts to more than tripple this year to a record 35,000 as Europe grapples with its biggest migrant crisis since World War Two.
Next year, the government expects 30,000-50,000 asylum applications.
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