NORWAY SHOULD PULL OUT OF SIERRA LEONE (Aftenposten)

Norway should terminate its involvement in the UN operation in Sierra Leone in the view of Headquarters Defence Command Norway (OF). The reason is that the KFOR command in Kosovo makes such heavy demands on Norwegian resources that we can no longer keep up our efforts in Sierra Leone. The Norwegian UN delegation feels pulling out would be a violation of Norwegian obligations and has therefore voiced strong opposition to such a move. Foreign Ministry press spokesman Karsten Klepsvik points out that it is not Norwegian policy to concentrate exclusively on Kosovo, so it is unlikely the generals will have their way.

GOVERNMENT WORKERS STRONG IN LABOUR (Dagbladet)

Government employees will be heavily represented at the Labour national convention in November, and a number of the decisions they make there will have a direct impact on their jobs. If the counties as political and administrative units are dissolved, some well-paid county politicians will have to find new employment. One-third of Norway’s working population is employed in the government sector, but the ratio at the national convention will be much higher, since only 16 per cent of Labour delegates work in the private sector.

FARMERS READY TO FIGHT EU MEMBERSHIP (Dagsavisen)

The Norwegian Farmers' Union has been building up its war chest and is ready to do battle. "If Labour’s national convention produces any motion calling for another application for EU membership, we will rebuild No to the EU," says farm union president Kirsten Indgjerd Værdal. But the European Movement is not letting this opportunity slip away either. They want Norway to join ahead of the 12 Eastern European applicant countries, and have adopted a secret strategy plan with 16 September 2002 as the date for a new referendum.

PETROLEUM MINISTRY PLANNING HUGE OIL COMPANY (NTB)

The Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) newsroom reports that the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy will propose that the state should organize all activities of which it is owner into a single, large corporation. The new corporation will be a holding company which will hold the government shares in the partially privatized Statoil as well as manage the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI), which is the official name of the state-held offshore petroleum assets. According to NRK’s sources, the proposal will be presented to the Labour national convention this autumn. The holding company proposed will be the fourth largest oil company in the world.

KREDITKASSEN PROCESS MUDDY (Dagens Næringsliv)

The process leading up to the sale of government-held shares in the Kreditkassen bank is rather muddled, according to Christian Riis, assistant professor at the Norwegian School of Management. The result has been to dampen the interest of potential buyers, and the selling price is likely to be lower than it would have been with open bidding," says Mr. Riis. The Government is considering delaying the sale until after next year’s fiscal budget has been presented, and the decision to this effect could be taken as early as today.

IMMIGRATION DIRECTOR CALLS FOR MORE HIRING OF IMMIGRANTS (Dagsavisen)

The government should hire more immigrants, in the view of Director General Petter Drefvelin of the Directorate of Immigration. He suggests a ten per cent ratio of immigrants in government jobs in Oslo would be within reach. "A job represents a steady income, it reinforces one’s self-esteem, enables one to establish a personal network and provides entry into Norwegian society. Materially and psychologically, a job is of fundamental importance in the process of integrating immigrants. The inaccessibility of employment has an extremely negative impact," says Mr. Drefvelin. State Secretary Marianne Seip Haugsnes of the Ministry of Labour and Government Administration agrees that more immigrants should be hired in government jobs.

DIRECTOR GENERAL OF HEALTH BACK ON THE JOB (Vårt Land)

Director General of Health Anne Alvik, who has been on sick leave, will be back on the job as head of the Norwegian Board of Health on 27 September. Ms. Alvik took six months’ sick leave after a wave of criticism of the role played by the Board of Health in the controversy surrounding allegations of assisted suicide at Bærum County Hospital. "A major reason why I am coming back is to demonstrate my continued faith and confidence in the organization," she says.

WORTH NOTING

• A growing number of the Labour Party’s Eurosceptics have nothing against opening up for the possibility of seeking Norwegian membership of the EU in the coming parliamentary term. (Nationen)
• Consumption of natural gas in mainland Norway will reach six billion cubic metres in 2010 – six times the present figure. This will be possible without using gas to produce electric power, according to a commission which will present its recommendation to Minister of Petroleum and Energy Olav Akselsen today. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The total operating losses for Norway’s five regional hospitals will be NOK 600 - 700 million this year. If a crisis package is not forthcoming from the central government, the hospitals will have to reduce their services. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• A number of new e-businesses are competing for the student market as the school year begins. Rema-Reitan and consulting firm Andersen Consulting, among others, have invested in Internet services tailored to students. So many e-businesses are opening websites that it almost takes a degree in informatics just to keep track of them. (Verdens Gang)
• 2,481children between the ages of 5 and 14 committed punishable offenses last year. According to Statistic Norway, this is an 80 per cent increase in the past five years. Nearly half of these child offenders repeat their lawbreaking. (Vårt Land)
• Police dropped 60 per cent of all cases involving sexual abuse of children, according to the NRK newsroom. Only 20 per cent of such cases reached the courts. Few who are charged with sexual abuse of children are convicted. Around 30 cases were investigated by the police between 1995 and 1997, but only four persons were convicted during this period. (NTB)
• The Norwegian State Railway (NSB) has decided to close its ticket offices and let travellers buy their tickets at Narvesen newsstands instead. The Norwegian Union of Railway Workers is sceptical to the trial arrangements to be implemented at Fredrikstad station on 4 September. (Verdens Gang)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagens Næringsliv

Statoil group CEO Olav Fjell would prefer being given a larger share of the national oil assets over opening Statoil to private investment. But the politicians should not give him what he wants. What they should do is to privatize Statoil and to go all the way. Norway’s petroleum industry was built up under the shelter of a system of regulations designed to protect it. We had no intention of simply letting foreigners come in and extract oil from the North Sea; we wanted to learn how to do it ourselves. One of the arguments was that this would give us skills which we could put to good use after the oil ran out. Protecting developing industries until they are strong enough to make it on their own can make sense, but the politicians must let them stand on their own feet when the time comes. Statoil considers itself strong and competitive, and therefore wishes to enter the international arena and try its hand. The political structures have served their purpose, and now we can acknowledge Statoil’s self-confidence. But Statoil will have to make its way in the world on its own; it cannot enter the international market holding the Government’s hand. It must dare to compete on an equal footing with others.

N O R E G