THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Oslo
Press Division

NORWAY DAILY No. 157/00

DATE: 18 August 2000

6000 KOSOVARS TO BE SENT HOME (Aftenposten)

The Ministry of Justice has given the all clear signal for repatriating Kosovars whose applications for asylum have been turned down. This will be the biggest mass deportation ever carried out in Norway. They have been given a final deadline of two weeks to leave voluntarily. After that, they will be taken by the police. The Stoltenberg Government hopes more of them who are turned down will leave of their own free will when see that unsuccessful applications are followed up with compulsory action.

COMPROMISE LIKELY ON STATOIL PRIVATIZATION (Dagsavisen)

Minister of Petroleum and Energy Olav Akselsen’s view regarding the privatization of Statoil is that whatever policy is adopted, general support for the policy is more important than that it should reflect his views precisely. A compromise is thus the most likely outcome. Mr. Akselsen took a conciliatory position in his meeting with those who oppose partial privatization. "Statoil was created on the basis of a broad parliamentary majority. I have been hoping all along that we can achieve a policy that will promote consensus within the Labour Party as well as in the Storting.

STATOIL MANAGEMENT FEARS DROP IN VALUE (Dagens Næringsliv)

The view held by the Statoil management is that partial privatization without any transfer of State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI) assets will only lose money. "The owners are the ones who call the shots, but the owners will be doing a bad job of it and will forfeit billions of kroner if Statoil is not given any SDFI assets," says Statoil senior information officer John Ove Lindøe, referring to the possibility of a Labour compromise which "freezes" the current status of the SDFI.

HOSPITAL CONTROVERSY BECOMING INFLAMED (Aftenposten)

Labour’s social policy spokesman, former farm minister Gunhild Øyangen, faults the party leadership for inadequate political craftsmanship on the issue of county versus national administration of the hospital system. "I dread the situation that may evolve without a democratic intermediate level of control," she says. Labour MPs in the parliamentary Committee on Health and Social Affairs have asked party leaders to postpone their decision on the transfer of the public hospital system to national administration, but party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland has flatly refused. He also brushed off Ms. Øyangen’s criticism that the issue has been inadequately studied.

ENVIRONMENTALISTS DO NOT FEAR RADIOACTIVE POLLUTION (Vårt Land)

The chief problem facing the fishing industry is that any trace of radioactive contamination could spoil the reputation for high quality associated with Norwegian fish. In the midst of the drama surrounding attempts to rescue the crew of the Kursk, the Bellona Environmental Foundation and the Institute of Marine Research discount the danger of serious environmental damage resulting from this accident. They do not believe radioactive discharges from this source will have any impact on the standing of the Barents Sea as one of the cleanest and richest fishing grounds in the world.

ESA: CONFLICT OF INTERESTS IN UMTS LICENSING (Dagens Næringsliv)

The EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA) may investigate the Ministry of Transport and Communications’ double role in the allocation of new Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS) network licences. As both licensing authority and owner or part-owner of several applicants, the Ministry has a conflict of interests. The ESA has been trying for several years to get the Ministry to resolve its conflicting interests, and has ordered Norwegian authorities to remove Telenor from the Ministry of Transport and Communications.

CROSS-BORDER TRADE STILL CLIMBING (Nationen)

Trade across the Swedish border is reaching new heights. Figures for July showed a 37.5 per cent increase over July 1999. Cross-border trade growth in the Strömstad district was close to 50 per cent. The Government is expected to propose a reduction in value-added tax on cheese and meat in an effort to reverse the trend. Norway Meat notes the proposal with satisfaction, but a reduction in VAT on food is still a controversial issue within the Labour Party.

WORTH NOTING

Four Norwegian deepwater divers will descend to the Kusk at the bottom of the Barents Sea. No one knows what they can expect to find. (Dagbladet)

Telenor chief Tormod Hermansen is considering a partnership with British Telecom, headed by Peter Bonfield. Mr. Hermansen could break off the ongoing collaboration with the British corporation and pull out with NOK 22 billion, mostly in pure gains. (Dagens Næringsliv)

Shipping magnate John Fredriksen and the other Frontline shareholders will earn NOK 12 billion in the next two years. Experts in the tanker market hardly believe their own eyes. They expect the boom in this market to last for two years. (Dagens Næringsliv)

A growing number of Norwegians are investing more and more in unit trusts and other investment funds. NOK 20 billion worth of unit shares have been sold so far this year, though yields have been weak. Overall investments in unit trusts have now passed NOK 100 billion. (Aftenposten)

The robbery of DnB’s cash centre last Monday is the biggest ever committed in Norway. The four armed robbers may have got away with nearly NOK 58 million. (Dagbladet)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Aftenposten

With Labour Party leaders insisting that the Government and the Storting must be free to act on the issue of Norwegian membership of the EU in the next parliamentary term, the stage is set for another traumatic conflict that will split the party. Fundamentalists among the Eurosceptics will certainly not make next year’s election campaign any easier for Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and party chairman Thorbjørn Jagland. Finn Erik Thoresen, former assistant head of the Social Democrats against the EU (SME), feels that with party leaders calling for freedom to act, the SME should be brought to life again. This is a threat Stoltenberg and Jagland can take with equanimity, however; it is a test of strength from which they will emerge even stronger. After all, they are not calling for another application for EU membership. On the contrary—they have emphasized that an application should not even be considered until there is a reasonable certainty that a new referendum will come out in favour of membership. What they are asking the party to incorporate into its programme is no more than an opening for the issue to be brought up again before 2005 if developments in Norway and the EU make such a move appropriate. What could be wrong with that?