Supporters of EU membership slam Conservative passivity (Aftenposten)

The Conservative Party leadership yesterday poured cold water on those who may be thinking that recent polls showing a majority of the population in favour of EU membership and the forthcoming expansion of the EU area would prompt the party to take up arms again on behalf of EU membership. Jan Petersen, party leader and current Foreign Minister, made it clear that the Conservatives have learned their lesson well after two failed attempts to win a referendum on the issue. According to Mr Petersen a new debate on membership will only happen if there is a real change of heart among the electorate. "This could happen if the image of the EU as the enemy is toned down," he said. However, according to Sigurd Grytten, leader of the European Movement in Norway, "The Conservatives have betrayed the membership issue; there is no doubt about it. The change of public mood is happening despite the Conservatives’ passivity. People see that it will become more and more difficult for Norway to stay on the outside, and we must in any event implement the EU’s rules. The Conservatives have a long way to go before they regain any honour in the cause of Europe."

Support for EU membership growing steadily (Dagbladet)

Support for Norwegian membership of the EU has increased to 46 per cent, 10 points ahead of those who say no. For the present it looks as though something akin to a pro-European wind of change is blowing across Norway. Both Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and the Christian Democratic Party chairwoman Valgerd Svarstad Haugland have now called for a new round of debate on EU membership, and have even hinted that the Christian Democrats may not pull out of the current coalition government if the issue were to come up. This has been interpreted as an indication that the Christian Democrat leadership is shifting its position on EU membership.

EU wants NOK 4 billion – Norway has offered NOK 300 million (Aftenposten)

According to Norway’s initial negotiating position, the Government has offered the EU NOK 300 million in payment for an expansion of the EEA Agreement, far short of the billions that the EU had signalled it wanted. The Storting’s extended Foreign Affairs Committee received a briefing yesterday on Norway’s initial negotiating position. Norway’s main demand is for tariff-free exports of Norwegian fish to the EU market.

Røkke: Storm in a very small teacup (Dagbladet)

"In my world this affair is a storm in a very small teacup," said Kjell Inge Røkke yesterday at a press conference to give his views on the scandal involving his close associate, former Health Minister Tore Tønne. But Mr Røkke also admitted he made a mistake in not informing Kværner’s board of directors about the loan he had granted to Mr Tønne. Mr Røkke declined to comment on other aspects of the Tønne scandal than those relating to Kværner.

Røkke to offer Tønne more jobs (Verdens Gang)

Kjell Inge Røkke is planning to offer Tore Tønne more commissions in connection with Aker RGI, now that he has stepped down from Kværner’s board of directors. In the past few days Mr Røkke is believed to have indicated several times that his wholly-owned company Aker RGI had even more use for Mr Tønne than before. Mr Røkke no longer has to take into consideration Mr Tønne’s position as a member of Kværner’s board. "Tore Tønne has been and still is a man of honour," said Mr Røkke yesterday.

Religious Affairs Minister backs down (Klassekampen)

Religious Affairs Minister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland has reversed her position on the composition of the commission to look into the disestablishment of the Church of Norway. She will now include non-members of the Church when she names the commissioners. "I have changed my mind. I have heard some good arguments against my original suggestion, and now see that we need a commission with a broader representation," said Ms Svarstad Haugland. It appears that her surprising decision to exclude non-members of the Church of Norway from the commission had neither been approved by the Government, nor had any support in the Storting.

Statoil board under threat over Snow White overruns (Dagens Næringsliv)

"So far I have not considered replacing any of the directors on Statoil’s board. But it is extremely worrying that these enormous overruns have come at the very start of the major Snow White development project," said Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs. Mr Steensnæs "assumes" that the company has now made sure the quality of the rest of the work on the development of the Snow White gas field off the coast of northern Norway is up to scratch, and that a sufficient number of competent people have been assigned to the job so that further surprises are avoided.

No majority for cheap loans to pay electricity bills (Aftenposten)

A parliamentary majority has rejected the Labour Party’s call for cheap loans for those who are having trouble paying their electricity bills. "I think that it is putting the cart before the horse if people have to borrow money to pay an electricity bill. Loans are not the solution," said Hallgeir Langeland of the Socialist Left Party. He is deputy leader of the Storting’s Energy and Environment Committee. The Progress Party’s senior representative on the committee, Øyvind Vaksdal, is furious over the proposal. "For years the Labour Party has prevented the necessary construction of new power plants. And as soon as we see the results of this wretched policy, it is the state that must suddenly lend money to help people pay their electricity bills! This is an insult to the Norwegian people," he fumed.

Worth Noting

• Not even the last opinion poll of 2002 has given the Labour Party anything to smile about. Support for the party has dropped to 21.2 per cent. 8.5 per cent of the electorate say they support the Christian Democratic Party, which is an improvement on previous polls. The Progress Party remains the country’s most popular party, with the backing of 29.7 per cent of voters.
  (Dagbladet)
• The Norwegian authorities support the idea of training Afghan border police. The Foreign Ministry is now thinking of helping in the creation of a new force which is intended to patrol the lawless border with Pakistan and four other countries.
  (Verdens Gang)
• Yesterday, Norway and the other non-permanent members of the UN Security Council were handed a highly abridged copy of Iraq’s weapons report. Norway now has two days in which to evaluate the contents of the edited report.
  (Dagbladet)
• On 22 February last year, for the first time ever, the UN war crimes tribunal in the Hague handed down war crimes convictions relating solely to sexual offences. The two Bosnian Serbs involved are now serving their sentences in Bodø jail.
  (Dagbladet)
• Neither the quality of local authority services, nor employee job satisfaction is negatively affected by competitive tendering. But politicians will have to look long and hard to find any significant cost reductions through privatization. Short-term savings do not necessarily have any long-term effect.
  (Dagsavisen)
• Only one in three Norwegians believes that they will continue working right up until the official retirement age of 67. Managers and employees at 29 workplaces in the healthcare, pre-school day care and educational sectors have been interviewed about their work-related expectations.
  (Dagsavisen)
• Tore Tønne has received more lucrative commissions from Kjell Inge Røkke than those that have so far come to light. The payments for these commissions has enabled Mr Tønne to repay the NOK 3 million loan he was given by Mr Røkke.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Two million Christmas trees will fill Norwegian homes in the weeks ahead. 1.6 million of them are real trees, the rest are made of plastic.
  (Dagsavisen)

Today’s comment from Aftenposten)

The Conservative Party invited journalists to a press conference yesterday under the banner "The Conservatives Gear Up For Election Year". But the main topic of discussion between the Conservative leadership and the press was neither schools nor taxes. Jan Petersen, party chairman and Foreign Minister, attempted to rebut criticism of the Conservatives’ faintheartedness over the EU membership debate by declaring that the Conservatives’ vision for Europe was "as clear and firm as ever". We will have to take that on trust. But despite the fact that poll after poll has shown a change of mood among the people with regard to EU membership, participation in the ruling coalition has clearly put a damper on the party’s willingness to follow up that vision in practical political terms. Not even the EU’s decision to admit 10 new countries is enough to make the Conservatives hope that it is possible to change Norway’s position on Europe before the 2005 general election. Mr Petersen is trying to separate his enthusiasm for the EU as party leader and his loyalty to the Government’s political manifesto, the Sem Declaration, which states that "Norway’s relations with the EU are founded on the EEA Agreement", in his role as Foreign Minister. This shows quite clearly how paralyzed the Conservative Party is – despite being the Norwegian political party which most ardently support EU membership – in a situation where developments in Europe are moving so quickly that it is not at all certain that Norway’s interests are best served by automatically suspending all room for manoeuvre on the issue until the next parliamentary term. No one knows when the Conservatives intend to "gear up" for EU membership. We will have to wait for an unspecified length of time before we can test the credibility of the Conservative leadership’s claim that EU membership is more important than government office.