Thank you, Mr Chairman.

Ladies and gentlemen,

We owe ARENA a debt of gratitude for organizing this conference and giving us such a good opportunity to discuss the important topic of ‘Democracy and European Governance’. ARENA has indeed become a very important provider of unbiased academic input into the debate on Europe in Norway. At the start of the 21st century Europe is in the midst of far-reaching changes. The concepts of ‘democracy’ and ‘governance’ clearly need rethinking in European and global terms, against the backdrop of the convention on the future of Europe, which was inaugurated only last week.

The European Union is, of course, a major catalyst behind the dynamic changes taking place in Europe. European integration today is deepening in the sense that decision-making has been made more communitarian in a larger number of policy areas. But it is also widening, both in scope, by bringing new policy areas into the ambit of the European Union, and geographically, by embracing the countries of Central and Eastern Europe through enlargement.

Such profound changes in the European political landscape will of course also affect non-members such as Norway. This conference is a highly welcome contribution to public debate on how Europe is changing and how we should deal with these changes.

Six processes currently taking place within the EU are particularly relevant for today’s topic. Firstly, enlargement towards the east and south. The probable admission of 10 new countries in 2004, followed later by additional entrants, is a strong sign of solidarity with less affluent neighbours. It will change the nature of the EU project from a Western to a nearly all-European venture. At the same time, European integration is expanding into ever new areas of political life. The successful introduction of the euro is a tangible expression of European integration for EU citizens, as well as for citizens of non- EU states The Lisbon strategy complements the pursuit of economic competitiveness with an emphasis on ‘soft issues’ such as employment, social inclusion and sustainable development. Furthermore, cooperation has been strengthened in the areas of foreign, securityand defence policy and justice and home affairs. I think we will see particularly momentous developments in these areas in the coming few years, developments with important repercussions for all of us.

Finally, there is the debate on the future of Europe, which was initiated by the European Council in Nice in 2000, and which will conclude with the next Intergovernmental Conference in 2004. This debate is in fact arguable the most important process going on in the EU, as it encompasses and will change the policy processes I have just referred to.

It is therefore highly appropriate that the debate on the future of Europe takes centre stage at this ARENA conference. The Laeken declaration specifies certain issues: division of competences within the Union; simplification of the treaties; more democracy, transparency and efficiency; and a possibility of some sort of a European constitution. These issues are related both to the aims of EU integration and to the tools that will be used to achieve them.

The working arrangements for the debate also testify to a new approach to European reform. The Convention that will prepare revision of the treaties is a broad-based one, involving parliamentarians, government representatives, the candidate countries and civil society. This is an important departure from the past and an essential step in the direction of a truly public debate on what European governance and democracy should be about. The status of the persons chosen to represent the member states and the European institutions shows the importance that is being attached to this assembly. Comparisons to the assembly that drew up the American Constitution in Philadelphia more than two hundred years ago are perhaps not wholly out of place.

One of the main issues to be debated by the Convention is the division of competences between the European institutions and the member states. This is perhaps the most controversial of the issues outlined in the Laeken declaration, touching as it does on sensitive issues of power balance and the question of what kind of polity the EU is or should become. As a government representative of a non-member country, it would not be appropriate for me to express strong opinions on how the EU organizes itself internally. However, the debate raises interesting questions about the relationship between democracy, subsidiarity, efficiency and governance. These questions also need to be debated in a Norwegian context, not least because changes in the EU’s working methods may have considerable repercussions for us as well.

As you are all aware, the question of the ‘finalité’ of European integration is a contentious one, and different perspectives abound in the member states. Personally, I favour a pragmatic approach to this issue, similar to that proposed by the British minister for European affairs, Peter Hain who has observed stated that national interests can be better advanced from within international organizations. I quote: "This doesn’t take away our sovereignty. It strengthens it. In today’s global village, power shared means power regained".

I think this signifies something important: That the future of Europe is not about a choice between national sovereignty and supranationality, but about creating a structure of multi-level governance. A structure where local, regional, national and supranational institutions all have their part to play in achieving the goals of democracy and effective, coherent governance. Furthermore, this reflection should lead us to another important realization, namely that European integration must first of all have tangible and beneficial effects for Europe’s citizens. Therefore we need European institutions that both yield results and have democratic legitimacy.

Finally, I would like to say a few words on the question of how Norway, as a non-member country, is responding to the changes in the European Union. First of all, the Norwegian Government respects, of course, the result of the referendum in 1994. Membership of the Union is not on the agenda. Public opinion polls continue to show that a majority of the voters are against membership. Similarly, there is not enough support in Parliament for reopening the issue. However, that does not mean we do not intend to take an active approach to Europe. The Coalition Government’s recently adopted ‘European Policy Platform’ analyses the challenges that are posed by European developments; outlines the aims of Norwegian European policy; and defines concrete actions to be taken to achieve these aims.

To put it very briefly, the keywords are coordination and openness. We want to coordinate our European policy more closely, both within the civil service and in our approach to EU institutions and member states. This is a question of governance – of using our capacities effectively to achieve our aims. Secondly, we want to involve Norwegian citizens more closely in the framing of policy by strengthening cooperation with local and regional government and civil society. This is a question of democracy – of involving people in the shaping of decisions that will affect their interests. It is the balancing of these two principles that is the main challenge for European states in the years ahead, and that we are going to discuss today. In my view, there are no fixed responses to this challenge. This makes it of course all the more interesting to discuss different perspectives. I am looking forward to hearing some new ones today!

Thank you.