Hagen waiting for Bondevik (Dagsavisen)

Yesterday morning Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen once again broke off negotiations over the budget. Mr Hagen was incensed by the Government’s unwillingness to make adequate concessions to the Progress Party. "As far as I am concerned they have had their last chance," said an aggrieved Mr Hagen, who claimed that there was no basis for a resumption of negotiations. However, Progress Party sources in the Storting do not believe the breakdown in the budget negotiations is permanent. They expect Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik to invite Mr Hagen for talks in the next few days, and that Mr Hagen will accept the invitation. But the Government is reluctant to bring the Prime Minister into the budget negotiations. The coalition’s worst case scenario is that Mr Bondevik invites Mr Hagen for talks, and that Mr Hagen once again rejects the Government’s budget proposal.

Serene slide towards vote of confidence (Aftenposten)

Despite the breakdown in negotiations between the coalition partners and the Progress Party over next year’s national budget, there is little evidence of impending crisis in the Storting. Yesterday afternoon both sides were busy explaining who was responsible for the lack of progress in the negotiations – the other side, of course. But none of the parties so much as hinted that the Government’s very existence was as stake. The Storting’s Finance Committee, led by the Progress Party’s Siv Jensen, will now continue its deliberations on the budget.

NOK 700 or NOK 7,000 (Dagens Næringsliv)

The Progress Party is furious that only NOK 700 million has been moved its way after two rounds of negotiating majority support for the Government’s budget proposal. The Government says the figure is much bigger. "Several billion kroner," said the Conservatives’ Oddvar Nilsen yesterday. "NOK 7 billion, though some of it over a number of years," said party colleagues. "What, is that what they are saying? Actually, they offered NOK 685 million in 2002," exclaimed Siv Jensen (Progress Party), chairman of the Storting’s Finance Committee.

Iceland and Norway vie for ESA Presidency (Aftenposten)

Norway’s Knut Almestad steps down as President of the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) at the end of the year. But the choice of his successor remains open. The conflict has now been laid at the door of Foreign Minister Jan Petersen. Aftenposten understands that the issue of who will take over leadership of the most powerful body within the EEA system will be at the top of the agenda when Mr Petersen visits Reykjavik later this month. The appointment should have been decided ahead of last month’s EEA Council meeting in Luxembourg, but no agreement was reached at that time.

Norway to oil US economy (Dagsavisen)

Norway will not bow to Opec pressure to cut oil production in order to prevent a drop in oil prices. Terrorist attacks, war and growing economic problems in the USA are key reasons why Norway is refusing to accede to Opec’s demands for a cut in oil production. "Any such measures are out of the question at the present time. But I do not rule out the possibility that a situation could develop which would make Norwegian assistance necessary," said Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs.

1 Worth Noting

• Progress Party MPs met yesterday to vent their frustration over what they see as the Government’s lack of willingness to negotiate. But when push comes to shove, it is highly unlikely that the Progress Party would be prepared to bring down the Government. (Dagsavisen)
• The Government’s budget concessions to the Progress Party include free prescription medicines for the elderly and disabled with chronic ailments, a lower cap on the amount patients must pay for medical treatment and other personal care provided by the state, tougher sentences for habitual criminals and an increase in the personal tax allowance. However, the Progress Party rejected these and other concessions when party chairman Carl I. Hagen walked away from the negotiating table yesterday afternoon. (NTB)
• "It is sad that the Conservatives’ culture of wheeler dealing has rubbed off on the Christian Democrats and the Liberals. The Government’s budget proposal meets almost none of the Progress Party’s demands. On the other hand, the Government is proposing changes which we never asked for," said Carl I. Hagen yesterday. (Dagbladet)
• "We can save billions of kroner by getting asylum-seekers more quickly into paid employment," said Local Government and Regional Development Minister Erna Solberg. Ms Solberg wants the scheme in which refugees are paid a wage for taking language courses and participating in job training in place by the end of 2003. (Aftenposten)
• It is not only Russian Yukos billionaires who are finding their way to Norway these days. An increasing number of Russians are turning their sights on Norway, and tourism has more than doubled so far this year. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The media conglomerate Schibsted made a third-quarter loss this year of NOK 250 million. Chief executive Kjell Aamot believes things will go from bad to worse, and has announced cost cutting measures and job losses. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Six out of ten people believe that good opportunities will arise to start their own businesses within the next six months, but they do nothing about it. Their current jobs are too secure. (Nationen)
• Winds approaching hurricane force yesterday led to the closure of roads and railway lines, and the cancellation of flights and ferries. Thousands of homes were without electricity or telephone connections, and a number of people had to be evacuated. (NTB)

2 Today’s comment from Nationen

Oil prices are falling and it is affecting Norway’s national economy. Opec is trying to halt the price slide by cutting production levels, but is tired of doing the job on its own. The Opec countries are fed-up with freeloaders like Norway, and are now putting pressure on us to join in the production cut to be implemented in the new year. The response from Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs, however, has been vague. Not surprisingly. Norway has had a strange mental and political aversion to being associated with Opec. Norway has liked to see itself as a rich, western, industrialized nation which just happens to be an oil producer. At times the result has been fairly schizophrenic. We have been advocating closer links with Opec for some time and are pleased to note that an increasing number of others are voicing the same opinion. The new government should take this opportunity to change tack. And just now there are obvious political reasons to build bridges towards several of the Opec countries – not least the Arab states.