The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 103/00

Date: 31 May 2000

LO TO CONDUCT ITS OWN STATOIL DEBATE (Aftenposten)

Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) president Yngve Hågensen announces that his own organization will debate the matter thoroughly before he and his people take a final stand on the partial privatization of Statoil. Mr. Hågensen, who was a member of the state-owned oil company’s board of directors up until a year ago, does not believe the Government’s postponement of its decision until the national convention should cause any problems for Statoil. Taking the right decision is much more important than doing things in a rush that is likely to create problems, says Mr. Hågensen.

INTERNAL UPRISING IN LABOUR (Dagsavisen)

Within the Labour Party, a pitched, nationwide campaign against taking Statoil public is taking shape. The effort is led by leading Labour and LO figures in Oslo. A motion against any privatization of Statoil has already been submitted to the convention secretariat well within the applicable deadlines, according to Kleiv Fiskvik of the Oslo Labour Party. Mr. Fiskvik opposes privatization of any kind, and aims to distribute information all over the country—to every county, municipality and local organization.

BOTH SIDES BIDDING FOR DELEGATE SUPPORT (Dagens Næringsliv)

89 delegates to the Labour national convention in November have yet to take a stand on the future of Statoil and the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI). The battle for these delegates has now begun. I will be travelling widely to take part in this discussion, says Minister of Petroleum and Energy Olav Akselsen.

NORWAY DEMANDS ACCESS TO NUCLEAR INSTALLATIONS (Dagsavisen)

Norway is holding back NOK 20 million in funding for radioactive cleanup in an effort to pressure the Russians into being more forthcoming regarding their nuclear installations. Despite Norwegian financial support, our experts are refused access to Russia’s polluted naval bases. Norway has contributed NOK 458 million since 1995 to clean up radioactive waste and improve the safety of nuclear power plants in Russia.

SOME MOVEMENT IN AGRICULTURAL SETTLEMENT (Nationen)

The Government and Minister of Agriculture Bjarne Håkon Hanssen are under pressure. Around 1,000 farmers shouted slogans outside Mr. Hanssen’s office yesterday. As a small step in his effort to accommodate the farmers, Mr. Hanssen is now prepared to change certain details in the agricultural settlement proposition to be submitted in the Council of State on Friday. He denies any internal division in the Labour Party on this issue.

GOVERNMENT REFUSES TO EASE UP ON PETROL TAXES (Verdens Gang)

The Labour Government will not lift a finger to reduce petrol prices, which have now reached record levels. Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen and excise tax spokesman Erik Dalheim see no call to reduce petrol taxes. Petrol now costs 11 to 12 kroner per litre in many parts of the country, and is generally most expensive where people have to drive the longest distances to get anywhere.

STRONGER REACTIONS AGAINST SEXUAL ABUSE (Aftenposten)

A majority on the Storting’s Justice Committee favours stronger legal protection for children against sexual crime. One measure will be to expand the scope of what is defined as sexual abuse. The term sexual relations will be widened to include situations in which the victim is forced to abuse him or herself. Courts will be empowered to bar persons found guilty of sexually abusing children from public employment in jobs which involve contact with children.

WORTH NOTING

• Women who are convinced that they have been raped will be able to make this accusation without risking a liability suit from the alleged rapist. A Justice Committee majority has been collaborating with Minister of Justice Hanne Harlem on a legal amendment to this effect. Law Prof. Svein Slettan says the proposal weakens the legal rights of men wrongfully accused of rape. (Aftenposten)
• Kjell Opseth (Labour) says the farm organizations may have destroyed the alliance between Labour and the political centre on agricultural policy following the breakdown of the agricultural negotiations. (Nationen)
• Norwegian merchant marine officers are in a state of shock after the Bergesen shipping line indicated yesterday that the percentage of Norwegian crew members on their ships will be reduced by more than half. Small wonder, though, when a Norwegian first mate costs NOK 600,000 per year compared with the NOK 200,000 that an Indian or Filipino first mate costs. (Aftenposten)
• The Norwegian Pollution Control Authority (SFT) intends to improve monitoring and charting of environmental toxins. Fifteen industrial enterprises will take part in a study scheduled to begin this summer. (Dagsavisen)
• Marine insurer Skuld has finished processing claims in the wake of the Sleipner disaster and has calculated the compensation to be paid at around NOK 30 million. This total is in line with traditional practice under Norwegian liability law, which generally recognizes liability only for financial loss. (Aftenposten)
• Pledges by politicians to improve public transport are worth nothing. It has been documented that more asphalt is the only response by the Directorate of Public Roads to the growing volume of traffic on Norwegian roads. (Nationen)
• The Storting is expected today to approve the contract with Bazan, a Spanish shipyard, for five frigates at a cost of NOK 14 billion. Only the Centre and Socialist Left parties oppose the measure. Helicopters and ship-to-ship missiles will bring the price up to over NOK 17 billion. (Aftenposten)
• 17.3 tons of smuggled meat have been seized so far this year—nearly 30 per cent more than at this time last year. New collaborative procedures implemented by the Norwegian Food Control Authority are likely to push this figure even higher. (Dagsavisen)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Vårt Land

The honeymoon is over for Jens Stoltenberg. First, his own party’s MPs insisted that he add another billion kroner to the funding of local government in the Revised National Budget, and now the party is making him delay the privatization of Statoil. Mr. Stoltenberg is genuinely convinced that the privatization of Statoil and the sale of the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI) are good measures which will put the government in a better position to carry out its obligations. His aim is to allow Statoil to rise to international stature, enabling it to pursue Norwegian interests in a globalized economy—to the benefit of its owners, which will include the Norwegian state. He is afraid that the alternative will leave the government in possession of a dinosaur which developments have left behind. As regards the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI), he feels it should be converted now while prices are high. But the veterans of the industrial reconstruction spearheaded by the Labour Party, together with the young radicals, insist that the state must maintain control and not sell off the family jewels to capitalists. They view Mr. Stoltenberg’s accommodation as a capitulation to the market and a betrayal of the party’s ideological identity. This exposes a cultural schism. Internal tension over the future direction of the labour movement was temporarily overshadowed by enthusiasm over having a new prime minister who would lead the party back to power. But the tension is still there, as is the dissatisfaction with party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland. The Government’s humiliating defeat once again raises the question of whether the Labour Party’s leaders are up to the job.

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Norway Daily will not come out on Thursday 1 June, which is a Norwegian holiday, nor on Friday 2 June, due to major work to be performed on the MFA’s computer network.