To Norway without ID papers (Aftenposten)

Almost 15,000 people sought asylum in Norway last year. 84 per cent of them, or around 12,000 people, arrived without identification papers. Aftenposten has learned that the various Norwegian government agencies are deeply concerned by the arrival in this country of large numbers of people whose identities are unknown. Sources at the Immigration Directorate say that the vast majority of asylum-seekers from countries which need a visa to enter the Schengen area destroy their identity papers before they apply for asylum in Norway.

Spending spree back on (Dagsavisen)

Norwegian consumers will be able to live high on the hog for the next two years. Statistics Norway is forecasting that Norwegian households will have eight per cent more money to spend this year and next year taken together. Only once before in the past 20 years have real incomes grown so fast. Two months ago Statistics Norway called off the national spending spree which many economists had been predicting. But now they are once more ready to party. Per Richard Johansen, an adviser with Statistics Norway, is predicting that money market rates will fall by 0.3 to 0.4 per cent between now and the summer, after which they will stabilize at around six per cent and will stay at that level until the end of 2003.

Call to earmark oil revenues (Aftenposten)

Svein Longva, head of Statistics Norway, has joined the debate about what to do with Norway’s oil wealth. To protect the country’s oil revenues from the lobbyists, he sees no alternative to earmarking the money to cover future pension obligations. "The new rules for spending Norway’s oil revenues lack a justification. It is not clear how the revenues are to be managed since there is no clear definition of what the money which is to be saved over the next 10-20 years will be spent on," said Mr Longva.

Progress Party largest in North Norway (Dagsavisen)

Support for the Labour Party has plunged to under 20 per cent in North Norway, while the Progress Party is the region’s largest party, according to the first poll to be carried out in the north of the country since the general election last autumn. 80 per cent of the interviews underlying the poll were carried out this week – in other words after Thorbjørn Jagland announced he would not be standing for re-election as chairman of the Labour Party. A number of senior northern politicians have called on Jens Stoltenberg not to run as a candidate when the party’s annual conference elects a new party chairman in November.

Centre Party calls for guerrilla war to defend regions (Nationen)

The Centre Party must become a guerrilla party, according to Geir Pollestad, deputy leader of the party’s youth wing. He is calling for lower petrol prices in rural areas only and driving licences at 16 for young people living in country areas. Mr Pollestad believes the party must use the opportunity to look ahead 20 or 30 years, with the goal of becoming a visionary opposition party, not pragmatic and inoffensive as it is today.

All-party backing for anti-bullying legislation (Verdens Gang)

There is all-party backing in the Storting for specific legislation to stop school bullying, according to a recent straw poll. Education Minister Kristin Clemet (Con) wants to introduce specific anti-bullying provisions as part of the Education Act and the Private Schools Act. The focus of the original consultation paper written by the Ministry of Education was the structural decay of school buildings.

Worth Noting

1. Justice Minister Odd Einar Dørum is to propose legislation which will make it easier to remand individuals convicted of murder in custody while they await their appeal hearing. (Dagsavisen)
2. The Conservatives and Liberals have described Church Affairs Minister Valgerd Svarstad Haugland’s wishes for the future of the Church of Norway as both surprising and unrealistic. (Vårt Land)
3. The Bank Complaints Commission is now looking into 400 cases in which banks are demanding that their customers should pay a share of the costs arising from unauthorized third parties accessing their bank accounts. (Dagsavisen)
4. SAS is making 2,500 employees redundant and cutting the number of departures in response to huge losses. But the ailing airline has nevertheless decided to share out NOK 20 million in bonuses to 250 of its senior executives. (Dagbladet)
5. Following yesterday’s failure to clarify the situation surrounding the minimum price for salmon, Norwegian negotiators in Brussels and their EU counterparts have taken a break from negotiations until next week in an attempt to come up with some new ideas for solving the seemingly intractable salmon question. (Aftenposten)
6. Only around a third of real estate agents are government authorized estate agents or lawyers. The Consumer Council and the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission have called for better controls. (Dagbladet)
7. Social Affairs Minister Ingjerd Schou is planning to introduce regulations to ensure minimum standards of quality in the provision of care for the elderly. Health Minister Dagfinn Høybråten is following up this initiative with a proposal to fine local authorities who do not comply with the regulations. A bill to this effect could be presented to the Storting this spring. (Aftenposten)
8. Siv Jensen, Progress Party deputy leader and chairman of the Storting’s Finance Committee, has warned the Government not to be too compliant on the energy front. "We do not need to be better than everyone else in the EU," she said. (Nationen)
9. Labour and Government Administration Minister Victor D. Norman has bowed to pressure from public sector employees, and has decided not to attack public sector pension schemes as part of this spring’s wage negotiations. (Dagens Næringsliv)
10. Less than a year ago the Christian Democrats voted to give Statkraft NOK 16 million to strengthen the company’s equity capital. Now the party is refusing to provide any more cash. (Dagsavisen)
11. Norway has fewer wolves, while Sweden has more. But for the first time in 10 years there has been zero growth in the southern Scandinavian wolf population, according to a preliminary report on wolf numbers which has been compiled by Norwegian and Swedish scientists. (Aftenposten)

Today’s comment from Dagbladet

Social Affairs Minister Ingjerd Schou (Con) wants an end to sub-standard care at council-run nursing homes, and is planning to introduce regulations which will force local authorities to provide decent care for the elderly. The Minister wants to make clear that it is not enough for local authorities to provide a sufficient number of places, the regulations will set minimum standards for quality. Ms Schou regularly demonstrates her wish to be a demanding boss of the country’s welfare services. Old people are not to be simply swept out of sight, to be given food a couple of times a day and incontinence pads instead of lavatories. It goes without saying that local councils will complain about this and demand government handouts. But if they cannot give priority to the elderly in the first place, perhaps some other Minister can be burdened with finding the money to pay for the many other good causes for which the local authorities lack funding? The most important thing is to let local councils know that they cannot give their elderly citizens just any old standard of care. Ensuring the bill for all this ends up where it rightfully belongs is a matter which can be decided later.