SYDNES BLOCKADED BY NORWEGIAN DEMONSTRATORS (Aftenposten)

Norwegian demonstrators surrounded the residence of the Norwegian ambassador in Prague yesterday, preventing Minister of Development Cooperation Anne Kristin Sydnes from leaving. The demonstrations staged at the annual meeting of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund thus took a new and more aggressive turn. The activists wanted Ms. Sydnes to sign a declaration for the immediate cancellation of all third world debt.

NMA AND MHS AGREE ON HEALTH REFORM (Aftenposten)

The Norwegian Medical Association (NMA) and the Ministry of Health and Social Affairs (MHS) reached agreement late last night on the practical details of the statutory personal physician scheme. This clears the way for what may be the most important reform to be implemented in the health care sector in a long time, allowing its implementation on its scheduled starting date, 1 June 2001. One of the most difficult issues has been to strike a balance between the added responsibility the scheme entails for doctors and the individual practitioner’s influence over his or her own working hours. The Ministry has accepted most of the NMA’s demands.

RULING LABOUR PARTY FEARS DEFEAT (Verdens Gang)

The worst thing that could happen to the Labour Party is that the Stoltenberg Government could be brought down over the fiscal budget and replaced by the Bondevik Government. The humiliation of a vote of no confidence after six months in office could "break the back of the party", in the words of one party strategist. Verdens Gang is acquainted with the main outlines of the Government’s strategy for surviving the budget ordeal: concentrate on compromises with the political centre.

CENTRE ADVOCATES ON THING AND PROPOSES ANOTHER (Dagsavisen)

The Centre Party says it advocates heavier taxation of corporate shareholders yet proposes measures that would give them billions of kroner in tax relief. The dividends tax bill threatens the stability of the centrist alliance, and the Liberals, Christian Democrats and the Centre Party are discussing how to implement this tax hike without placing an undue burden on businesses. But figures from Statistics Norway indicate that the Centre Party’s proposal would provide billions of kroner in tax relief, contrary to the intention of the measure.

EU SUPPORTS CREATE PROBLEMS IN NORTHERN NORWAY (Nationen)

Businesses in the northern regions of Sweden and Finland have received the equivalent of NOK 16 billion in EU grants for the period 2000-2006. This promises to create problems for businesses in northern Norway, according to a recent report produced by Bedriftskompetanse AS, a regional consulting firm, on the EU’s regional supports in Finland and Sweden.

NO PROMISES TO EU (Aftenposten)

The two Norwegian oil companies Statoil and Norsk Hydro could not offer the EU Commission any quick fixes to the problem of high oil prices at yesterday’s meeting. The meeting between the EU Commission and the oil companies was a major issue in Brussels yesterday, but in the meantime, oil prices fell.

AKER MARITIME CANNOT AFFORD TO ATTEND MEETING (Dagens Næringsliv)

In a surprise stock exchange report yesterday afternoon, Aker Maritime, with board chairman and main shareholder Kjell Inge Røkke in the lead, cannot afford to take part in Kværner’s extraordinary shareholders’ meeting on Friday. The official explanation is that Aker Maritime will not be a shareholder when the meeting is held, but no explanation as to why it would not be a shareholder was forthcoming. It now seems that what Aker Maritime terms "financial considerations" are one of the reasons why it will not be taking part.

WORTH NOTING

• Investment taxes, which bring in NOK 6 billion annually, may soon be a thing of the past. Norwegian industry is fed up with paying excise taxes on research, an arrangement which is found only in Norway. "This is an unacceptable discrimination of Norwegian research," says Per Terje Vold, managing director of the Federation of Norwegian Process Industries. (Dagsavisen)
• Minister of Labour and Government Administration Jørgen Kosmo, the man chosen by Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg to modernize the public sector, has chosen Communist China for his first official visit. The purpose of the visit is to study personnel policy and public administration. (Dagbladet)
• Minister of Petroleum and Energy Olav Akselsen commissioned two consulting firms to produce value assessments of Statkraft SF. The two assessments differ widely, however, with NOK 27 billion as the lowest and NOK 50 billion as the highest figures. The objective was to assess Statkraft’s value in preparation for its privatization. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• A recent survey shows that half of all children of broken marriages achieve closer relationships with both parents. Parents also believe their children have become more responsible and do better in school. (Verdens Gang)
• Norwegians spent NOK 25 billion renovating their homes in the past year, with residents of Oslo and Akershus topping the statistics. (Dagens Næringsliv)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagens Næringsliv

The demonstrators who held a mourning procession through the streets of the Prague on Sunday had a very good point to make. The debts of the poorest countries ought to be partially or entirely forgiven. It is beyond all reason that a country unable to feed its population, vaccinate its children or give them a minimum level of schooling, should continue sending billions of kroner to the wealthy nations of the world in payment of old debts. Banks accept risks every time they extend a business loan. Businesses do fail on occasion, and when that occurs, banks must be prepared to accept partial repayment, or even write off loans entirely. In the same way, countries and finance institutions that have lent money to countries that fail in their efforts to foster growth must be willing to accept losses. It is unreasonable that the poorest should be the ones to suffer for defaults on loans others were unable to repay. But to qualify for debt cancellation, the countries in question must meet certain requirements relating to the size of the debt relative to the volume of exports. Forty-one countries meet these criteria, but before their debts are cancelled, they should be required to implement policies formulated both to provide a foundation for economic growth as well as reduce poverty. Only when it is obvious that a country is capable neither of formulating such policies nor of implementing them should its debt be cancelled. Having achieved that, the country should be required to apply the money it no longer needs to send abroad towards measures which will alleviate poverty.

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