Ute av Bellonas Europa-styre etter pengekrise

Frederic Hauge, the founder of Bellona, has stepped down from the board of Bellona Europa, a Brussels-based organization, due to a financial crisis. This decision was made at the group's last general assembly on August 24th. Sveinung Rotevatn, the CEO of Bellona's Norwegian foundation, confirmed this in a statement to E24, but declined to provide a reason for Hauge's departure.

Hauge's exit comes after Bellona Europa threatened to take Bellona Norway to court in April over unpaid bills. The Norwegian foundation had failed to meet a monthly payment of less than 250,000 euros to Bellona Europa for three consecutive months. E24 attempted to contact Hauge several times this week, but he has not responded. Bellona Europa, while linked to the Norwegian foundation, is an independent entity in Belgium with 25 employees.

Hauge is still listed as the chairman of the Norwegian Bellona foundation, which has the final say in choosing the majority of the board members and the chairman. The shortfall in payments between the two Bellona organizations was due to donations from two foreign foundations, which were earmarked for Bellona Europa. Additionally, Miljøstiftelsen owed Bellona Europa 302,000 euros for payments due in 2025.

A demand for around one million euros and a legal threat unless payment was made within 14 days was sent to Bellona Norway via a strongly-worded letter from Bellona Europa's lawyers on April 7th. The two Bellona offices eventually agreed on a repayment plan. Hauge was also elected to the Bellona Europa board for a six-year term starting August 2024, according to Belgian corporate documents.

Despite being elected as chairman, Hauge has not responded to E24's inquiries. The financial crisis arose because Bellona Norway failed to timely pay Bellona Europa, following the withdrawal of a donation of 20 million kroner by Quadrature Climate Foundation. Miljøstiftelsen was struggling to meet payroll due to delayed payments from a donor, Quadrature Climate Foundation.

Bellona was saved from insolvency in the 12th hour after collecting 13 million kroner in a week-long fundraising drive. E24 has previously reported that Miljøstiftelsen Bellona has had a precarious financial situation for several years, with its auditor in 2023 and 2024 expressing doubts about the viability of its operations. One of the reasons cited was that Bellona had loaned money to its wholly-owned subsidiary, Bellona Holding, which in turn had lent money to a start-up called Accelerate Capital.

Accelerate Capital, however, was unable to pay back the debt to Bellona Holding, owing 3.9 million kroner. Before summer, Hauge told E24 that Bellona Holding owed 5.8 million kroner to Miljøstiftelsen Bellona.