The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Oslo
Press Division – Editor: Benedicte Tresselt Koren

Norway Daily No. 235/02

Date: 11 December 2002

Tønne will not face charges over payments (NTB)

Officials at the Prime Minister’s Office have sent a letter to Socialist Left Party MP Ågot Valla informing her that in their opinion there is no reason to take any further steps against former Health Minister Tore Tønne, who is currently in hot water over consultancy fees he received for work carried out while he was still being paid a "waiting salary" after resigning his ministerial position. Ex-ministers are entitled to receive a salary from the state for a certain period while they are looking for a new job. Nevertheless, the Prime Minister’s Office says the rules need to be tightened up, particularly with regard to the repayment of monies received in situations in which income is received after the expiry of the "waiting salary" period, but which relates to work carried out during that period. In its letter to Ms Valla, the Prime Minister’s Office says that the wording of the Storting’s resolution on "waiting salaries" does not make it totally clear how the rules are to be understood, and that there may therefore be room for different interpretations.

Law firm’s inflated bill covered payments to Tønne (Dagbladet)

The law firm, BA-HR, inflated a bill it sent to Kjell Inge Røkke’s Aker RGI by a factor of four, and received an extra NOK 1.5 million. The figure corresponds to the amount Tore Tønne was later paid in fees for work in connection with the takeover of Kværner. This strengthens suspicions that the law firm attempted to cover up the extremely close financial ties between Kjell Inge Røkke and Tore Tønne. Just hours after Mr Tønne resigned as Minister of Health on 19 October last year, he was working full time in support of Mr Røkke’s company, Aker RGI. The objective was to help Aker Maritime take over Kværner, which it successfully did after six weeks of hectic activity. However, it was important for both Mr Tønne and Mr Røkke to conceal the close ties between them. Anders Eckhoff, a partner at BA-HR, declined to comment on Dagbladet’s information regarding the inflated invoice.

Leading Christian Democrat with surprise advice on interest rates

On the same day that the Norwegian Central Bank is due to decide if interest rates should be cut, Jon Lilletun, leader of the Christian Democratic Party’s parliamentary group, has flown in the face of his own government. Mr Lilletun says that Central Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem should put less emphasis on inflation and more on unemployment and the exchange rate. Mr Lilletun’s comments have raised eyebrows in the Storting. Neither the Finance Minister nor the Prime Minister would comment on Mr Lilletun’s advice.

Majority in favour of EU membership (Dagbladet)

For the first time in a long time an MMI poll shows a majority of Norwegians in favour of EU membership. According to political commentator Frank Aarebrot, high interest rates are partly to blame. The poll also shows that the EU’s forthcoming expansion eastwards has made one in five Norwegians more positive towards EU membership. 44 per cent say that Norway should join the EU, compared with 36 per cent in September. 37 per cent oppose EU membership, compared with 45 per cent three months ago. 19 per cent have not made up their minds, which is almost exactly the same as before. MMI’s polls have not shown a majority in favour of EU membership since the summer of 2000.

Valla tells Bondevik to take a holiday (Verdens Gang)

Gerd-Liv Valla, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), thinks that Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik needs a Christmas holiday. She thinks that the PM’s comments to the effect that it is not as much fun to have a woman LO president are rather odd – but mostly laughable. Mr Bondevik made the remark during a speech at the Storting’s press contingent’s Christmas party – in front of almost 200 journalists. He was responding to the evening’s main speaker, Yngve Hågensen, Ms Valla’s predecessor as LO president. "A lot of nice things happened. It is not as much fun now that we have got a woman," he said. "I can confirm that meetings with Mr Bondevik are not entertaining, but that is because I mostly go over there to sort out the mess that he and the Government have created," retorted Ms Valla. Christian Democratic Party chairman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland has called on politicians not to speak at the Storting’s press contingent’s Christmas parties in future.

Petersen furious over Norwegian vote (Dagbladet)

Foreign Minister Jan Petersen is furious at his own diplomats because they voted in favour of giving unrestricted access to Iraq’s weapons declaration only to the Security Council’s permanent members. On Friday the Security Council voted that the UN weapons inspectors should go through the report first before it was presented to the Council. The USA has now got the report and is busy making four copies for the UK, France, Russia and China. Norway and the other elected members of the Security Council will be allowed to see edited highlights of the report at a later date, putting them firmly in a "B-team" role. Only Syria protested against the decision. Norway’s ambassador to the UN, Ole Peter Kolby, voted in favour. From what Dagbladet has learned, Mr Kolby conferred initially with the Foreign Ministry in Oslo, but he only spoke to Foreign Ministry officials, who said it was alright. When Foreign Minister Jan Petersen found out – too late – he stood up and said it was not alright. "This is impossible to accept," thundered Mr Petersen, according to Dagbladet’s sources.

Worth Noting

• The scheme by which former MPs are paid a state salary while they are waiting to find new employment has also provoked strong reactions in the Storting itself. The Storting’s Pensions Board now intends to discuss tightening up the way the rules are practiced.
  (Aftenposten)
• We are not buying more, and we are not putting any more money in the bank. So what are people doing with this year’s hefty pay rises? wonder Norwegian Central Bank Governor Svein Gjedrem and his team of economists. The spending spree which never materialized is an important factor for Mr Gjedrem’s deliberations at the Central Bank’s interest rate meeting today. However, there are few people who believe interest rates will fall before the end of the year.
  (Aftenposten)
• One of Denmark’s most highly profiled EU supporters, Ole Stavad, is in despair over the Norwegian Prime Minister’s lukewarm attitude to Europe. The former Danish finance and industry minister believes Kjell Magne Bondevik is steering Norway into a blind alley in terms of European policy.
  (Verdens Gang)
• The board of the Newspapers’ News Agency (ANB), which is owned by A-presse, decided yesterday not to start merger negotiations with Norsk Telegrambyrå (NTB). The board said it did not see that a merger would benefit the interests of A-presse’s portfolio of newspapers.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Congregations which provide sanctuary for refugees and asylum seekers must take responsibility for them themselves, according to Local Government and Regional Affairs Minister Erna Solberg. A total of 39 asylum seekers are currently being given sanctuary in churches up and down the country. However, she has given orders for a Christmas amnesty, which means that they cannot be arrested and deported between 24 December and 1 January on the grounds that they do not have a residence permit.
  (Aftenposten)
• Since it first went into print in 1978, the celebrity magazine Se og Hør and its editor Knut Haavik have generated a dizzying NOK 1.75 billion in profit for its Danish owners, the Aller family. This year Se og Hør Forlaget set a new record with pre-tax profits of NOK 140 million.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

When Jimmy Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize yesterday, Gunnar Berge, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said that a sin of omission had finally been rectified. Mr Berge was right in saying that Jimmy Carter is one of the most deserving laureates for many years. He deserves the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts as a peace negotiator, champion of disarmament, human rights activist and tireless worker for both economic and healthcare development in the Third World. Mr Carter showed himself to be a worthy prize winner when he warned in his acceptance speech against going to war to prevent war, the new strategy being promoted by President George W. Bush. "For powerful countries to adopt a principle of preventive war may well set an example that can have catastrophic consequences," said Mr Carter. Nor did he hesitate to address another controversial issue when he gave his strong support to the creation of an international criminal court to try and convict war criminals. Unfortunately, Mr Carter is also right in saying that the post-cold war world is not a safer place to be. Growing injustice and a growing gap between rich and poor paves the way for new conflicts. This gap is the cause of a series of unresolved problems, including hunger, unnecessary disease, illiteracy, environmental devastation and armed conflicts. In such a world, no one is safe. These problems can only be solved if everyone is willing to share. This will be our biggest challenge in the years to come.