EU THWARTS JAGLAND’S PLANS (Nationen)

The EU Commission states that no new countries will be accepted as members of the EU before 2005 at the earliest. This means that Thorbjørn Jagland is losing one of his most important arguments for revitalizing the EU campaign during the next Storting session. "This will change the entire debate at Labour’s national party conference," says Labour MP Grete Fossum, an opponent of EU membership.

HOPING FOR VICTORY (Dagsavisen)

Labour leaders hope to win the battles surrounding the partial privatization of Statoil and the transfer of the hospital system from county to state administration. But they can’t be completely sure. "Of course it is better to win than to lose," says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. "It would be unwise to begin our party conference by announcing that we are sure to win. But we believe in our arguments," says Mr. Stoltenberg before the party conference begins today.

BONDEVIK THREATENS TO DROP BUDGET NEGOTIATIONS (Verdens Gang)

Kjell Magne Bondevik is threatening to walk away from budget negotiations with Jens Stoltenberg in the middle of Labour’s national party conference this weekend. "If they are unwilling to meet us half-way, there will be no settlement," says Mr. Bondevik. The demands made by the centrist parties behind closed doors are unprecedented in scope. According to Verdens Gang’s sources, who are key centrist politicians, the amount being discussed is NOK 22 to 24 billion.

ENOKSEN WARNS AGAINST PLACATING CONSERVATIVES (Dagsavisen)

Centre Party chairman Odd Roger Enoksen is warning the Labour party conference against going along with partial privatization of Statoil and state ownership of hospitals. "Labour leaders are setting their course in the wrong direction, towards the right instead of towards the centre," says Mr. Enoksen. "If Labour is serious about approaching the centrist parties, it must not align its policies with the Conservatives and the Progress Party," he continues.

GOVERNMENT SETBACK IN GAS POWER ISSUE (Dagbladet)

The Government’s gas power policy suffered a severe setback during the hearings on gas-burning power generation in the Storting yesterday. Analysts from Statistics Norway and the Frisch Centre stated that there is considerable uncertainty as to whether Norwegian-produced gas power will reduce CO2 emissions in Europe.

NRK TO ABANDON UNREALISTIC GOALS? (Dagens Næringsliv)

Director General of the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) Einar Førde and the rest of the senior management at NRK are considering whether they should abandon their professed goal of making NRK 1 the country’s largest television channel. On Monday the NRK management will meet to discuss a proposal made by Chief Executive of Broadcasting Hans Tore Bjerkaas, which involves a significant reduction in the corporation’s ambitions. Among other things, it is just too expensive to be number one in broadcasting major sports events. "There is no doubt that there is a lot at stake here," says Mr. Bjerkaas.

NORWEGIAN LOBBYISTS ENSURE CONTRACTS (Dagens Næringsliv)

Norwegian shipyards have received all their billion-kroner contracts as a result of intense lobbying by trade unions and industry organizations. "There are four main suppliers in Norway. Each of them has received a contract, and that cannot be entirely coincidental," says Kjell Almskog, head of Kværner, about the distribution of North Sea contracts.

GODAL WANTS A QUICK DECISION ON DEFENCE CUTS (Aftenposten)

Minister of Defence Bjørn Tore Godal wants the extensive reorganization of the defence forces to be a quick and painless political process. Nobody should have to suffer needlessly if a Storting majority follows the advice of the Government. On Monday Mr. Godal listened intently to what politicians from northern Norway had to say. The Chief of Defence Staff has now made a list of cutbacks, and in the course of the spring the Storting will take a final decision.

WORTH NOTING

• Oil researcher Helge Ryggvik directs devastating criticism against the Labour leaders who are so eager to privatize Statoil. In his view the party is gambling with the country’s oil and gas wealth. ( Dagsavisen)
• In the view of political science professor Ottar Hellevik, the Veritas report on Aetat, the government human resources agency, which led to the resignation of Director General of Labour Ted Hanisch, did not meet acceptable professional standards. ( Dagbladet)
• Tormod Hermansen, head of Telenor, is seeking permission from the Government to increase the company’s liquid assets when Telenor goes public. Soon he will also be informed as to how the proceeds from the sale of Telenor equity will be divided between the Government and Telenor itself. ( Dagens Næringsliv)
• Storebrand acknowledges that the turbulence surrounding Åge Korsvold’s options has had a negative impact on confidence in the company has been impaired as a result of. Storebrand’s entire senior management will receive remedial instruction in ethics. ( NTB)
• So far this year 402 children have come to Norway alone. Some children come by themselves, seek asylum, and end up as servants for alleged relatives. Others are brought here for forced marriages. Norwegian Save the Children demands that reception centres for minors be given status as child welfare institutions in order to be able to combat these developments. ( Aftenposten)
• The Directorate for Nature Management wants stricter regulations on salmon fishing next year. This year’s good catches should not be regarded as a decisive factor when fishing regulations and periods are stipulated, according to a letter to the county governors. ( NTB)
• The Gender Equality Ombud’s criticism of titles used for positions at the Royal Palace has been taken seriously by Master of the Court Lise Harlem. Some titles, such as Chambermaid, will be given gender-neutral names, while Master of the Court and some other titles will remain the same. ( Aftenposten)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagens Næringsliv:

Storebrand’s management will now be given instruction in morals and ethics. The company introduced ethical guidelines in 1997, believing that this would solve the problem once and for all. But guidelines are seldom enough. This can easily be seen in Norwegian attitudes towards smuggling tax-free articles and employing unregistered child-minders. Basic attitudes towards right and wrong are the decisive factor here. After one Norwegian corporate leader after another has been caught, not only for committing minor errors, but for real lawbreaking, it is obvious that many companies should take a closer look at their own corporate morality. The more companies that learn from Storebrand’s mistakes instead of making their own mistakes, the better it will be for the Norwegian stock market.

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