Budget battle lines harden (Dagsavisen)

Negotiations between the Labour Party and the ruling coalition parties over the budget took a turn for the worse yesterday. The gap between the two sides is still considerable, and a complete breakdown in negotiations today is quite possible. Oddvard Nilsen, leader of the Conservative Party’s parliamentary group, said yesterday that he and Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg were keeping in regular contact by phone, but that no new negotiations had been scheduled. The parties’ MPs did not think there was much likelihood of an agreement on the budget ahead of today’s decisive meeting of the Storting’s Finance Committee.

NOK 4.5 billion not enough for Labour (Aftenposten)

The ruling coalition parties yesterday offered the Labour Party concessions totalling NOK 4.5 billion, of which NOK 1.5 billion was to be earmarked for the local government sector. The Labour Party had originally demanded NOK 7.5 billion. "The Government has stretched its position considerably in order to accommodate the Labour Party’s demands," said Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik. Disagreement over how much of the budget should be changed and how those changes should be financed resulted in the negotiations entering a critical phase yesterday. "Just tinkering with the budget is not going to do the trick," said Mr Stoltenberg last night.

Negotiations heading for breakdown (Dagbladet)

Negotiations between the Labour Party and the ruling coalition parties over next year’s national budget look set to break down. The coalition parties have given themselves until this morning to report on developments in the negotiations. The words used yesterday evening to describe the situation were "difficult", "far apart" and "we must have more". Labour leader Jens Stoltenberg took a break from the negotiating table several times last night to repeat the same phrases. The atmosphere was not one of drama – in fact, quite the opposite.

EU demands billions from Norway (Aftenposten)

The European Commission has sown doubts about the foundation for the EEA Agreement. If Norway does not accept the EU’s demands ahead of negotiations on an extension of the EEA Agreement, the Commission will consider terminating the agreement. Norway faces demands to contribute as much to the EU’s structural and regional development fund as the member states themselves. This would amount to NOK 5-6 billion a year, or 30 times the current EEA membership fee. Today, Norway pays an "EEA membership fee" of NOK 170 million, plus the costs of participating in various EU programmes, bureaux and cooperative ventures. This brings the total cost to Norway to just over NOK 1 billion a year.

Norway accepts unequal EU agreement (Dagens Næringsliv)

Norway will accept an unequal agriculture agreement with the EU. Norway is prepared to make significant concessions in its negotiations with the EU on trade in ordinary agricultural products. The proposal means that Norway will cut import duties on EU agricultural products to the tune of around NOK 200 million a year. In return the EU will cut tariffs on similar Norwegian exports by around NOK 30 million.

Landowners still waiting for state compensation (Nationen)

The creation of new national parks and conservancy areas means that uncultivated land belonging to several thousand landowners has been expropriated. But so far they have not received any financial compensation for their losses. Environment Minister Børge Brende announced in March this year that the issue of compensation was to be investigated, but so far nothing has been done. Frustrated landowners are now demanding an explanation. 9.5 per cent of mainland Norway is protected by conservation orders. The target is for 13 per cent of the country to be covered by such legislation by 2010.

Customers abandon Storebrand in droves (Aftenposten)

Several thousand customers have left Storebrand’s general insurance business since it took the name "If" three years ago, leading to the loss of around NOK 2 billion in insurance premiums. Gjensidige Nor, Storebrand’s main competitor, puts this down to a diffuse corporate identity and the reduction in Storebrand’s network of local offices. Storebrand itself rejects this claim. "It has been a major challenge to be the largest company in a market where everyone has been forced to put up their prices by a considerable amount," said Egil Thompson, Storebrand’s head of corporate communications.

Norwegian motorists slammed for poor winter driving skills (Nettavisen)

Egil Oter, head of public affairs at the Norwegian Automobile Association, is astonished by how badly Norwegian motorists have tackled the arrival of traditional winter weather. "Many drivers do not understand what slippery road conditions mean, and what consequences they have for their vehicle’s driving characteristics. Many of them are unable to read the road in such a way that they can find the best and safest track. People also create potentially dangerous situations by stopping their cars on bends where the road surface is slippery. It should be remembered that we let around 50,000 new and inexperienced drivers onto the roads each year," he said.

1. Worth Noting

• Education Minister Kristin Clemet does not believe that class sizes should be determined by law. This will give schools greater freedom to organize their own teaching activities. The opposition parties in the Storting are unhappy with Ms Clemet’s proposal. The Socialist Left Party and the Labour Party think that Ms Clemet wants to give local authorities the chance to save money by packing more pupils into each class.
  (Dagsavisen)
• Restaurant owners throughout the country cheat the public when it comes to spirits and food, but are protected by the state. Customers are not told which establishments have been caught out. The Consumer Council is now demanding that the duty of confidentiality in such cases be rescinded. The restaurant industry supports the proposal.
  (Aftenposten)
• The development of Norsk Hydro’s Ormen Lange gas field could lead to a parliamentary defeat for Petroleum and Energy Minister Einar Steensnæs. The Progress Party is thinking of ordering Norsk Hydro to change its plans because Ms Steensnæs has allowed the company to assess only one location with regard to the construction of gas storage and processing facilities.
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Norway’s 400 travel agencies are facing financial difficulties as a result of major reductions in commission levels, increased direct sales over the internet and fierce price competition. The industry fears that some companies will fold, and is forecasting the emergence of fewer, but larger firms.
  (Aftenposten)
• The Socialist Left Party is steadily increasing its influence with the union movement. For the first time ever, party leader Kristin Halvorsen has been invited to be the main speaker at the annual conference of one of the largest unions belonging to the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).
  (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Public funding for newly started knowledge-based businesses is drying up. This year the Norwegian Industrial and Regional Development Fund (SND) and the Research Council of Norway have almost NOK 300 million less to invest in such ventures than they had last year.
  (Aftenposten)

2. Today’s comment from Aftenposten

Legal opinion can differ as much as it likes on the issue of whether the letter of the law is clear enough to determine if the Christian Democrats acted illegally when the party failed to disclose that Jens Ulltveit-Moe was the man behind the largest financial donation it received during last year’s election campaign. The fact remains that the party exhibited poor judgement and violated the intention of the law by keeping the NOK 100,000 donation from the president of the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) a secret. There is broad agreement, expressed in the legislation, that the name of the contributor should be disclosed when the donation exceeds NOK 20,000. The voters have a right to know who is giving money to our legislators, who have huge sums at their discretion. Politicians, regardless of party affiliation, must understand this simple fact – if for no other reason than to protect their own credibility.