Asylum seekers may stay with relatives or friends (Dagsavisen)

The Government is to launch a pilot project in which asylum seekers will be allowed to stay with relatives or friends while their applications are being processed. "It will be easier for them to find their place in the local community," says Local Government and Regional Development Minister Sylvia Brustad. In a report to be laid before the Storting on Friday she will propose a new model for relocating new residents around the country. Each county will be assigned a certain number of asylum seekers and refugees, which the local authorities will be responsible for distributing among themselves. However, according to Gunnar Gussgard of the Norwegian Association of Local Authorities, the association feels a new relocation model is unnecessary.

National bureau of crime investigation to search abroad (Aftenposten)

The National Bureau of Crime Investigation (KRIPOS) wants to step up the search for Norwegians who disappear while abroad, and is demanding that responsibility for such searches be given to the bureau. KRIPOS chief Arne Huuse says that police investigation of disappearances is unsatisfactory, and that KRIPOS aims to take on a coordinating role in such cases. The Director General of Public Prosecutions largely supports the proposal. However, it is the Ministry of Justice which will decide the matter.

Train safety worse (Aftenposten)

A recent report from the National Railway Administration shows that there is often a greater risk involved in taking a train today than in 1997. This is partly due to the fact that there are fewer people to check that trains do not run red lights on lines which do not have an automatic train stop system installed. The risk analysis also concludes that weaknesses in several other areas have heightened in the danger of collision being greater than before.

New NSB boss aims to rebuild trust (Dagsavisen)

Einar Enger was named as NSB’s new chief executive yesterday. "Rebuilding trust will be my first priority," he said. Mr Enger will take over as head of Norway’s national railway company on 1 March next year. Until then Arne Wam will continue as acting chief executive. Mr Enger is currently chief executive of the Norwegian dairy cooperative Tine Norske Meierier.

Non-studded winter tyres produce hazardous dust (Dagbladet)

Norwegian lung specialists believe several hundred thousand people may become ill as a result of the latex dust caused by soft, non-studded winter tyres. "Politicians are either bluffing or just plain ignorant when they claim that non-studded winter tyres are more environmentally friendly. Non-studded winter tyres generate more dangerous dust than studded tyres. 200,000-300,000 people may become seriously ill because of the clouds of dust they cause," says Senior Medical Officer Leif Bjermer of the Trondheim Regional Hospital.

Hagen crushed his opponents (Dagsavisen)

Carl I. Hagen has beaten the Progress Party’s Oslo rebels. With Dag Danielsen suspended and Arve Lønnum in the driving seat, Mr Hagen has regained full control of the party’s county organization. A minority became a majority at the Oslo branch’s extraordinary general meeting yesterday. Mr Hagen believes his victory shows the Oslo branch’s members are tired of all the quarrelling.

Government to give away 20-25 per cent of SDFI (NTB)

The Government will probably decide to share out 20 to 25 per cent of the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI) between Statoil and Norsk Hydro. The bill on this and the partial privatization of Statoil will probably be introduced on Friday. However, no one in the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy would say yesterday whether they would be finished by Thursday, though this is obviously their aim.

Won’t give up (Dagens Næringsliv)

To satisfy the EU, Kjell Inge Røkke and Aker Maritime have decided to content themselves with taking over 17.8 per cent of Kværner. This means that Mr Røkke has not given up the struggle against Kværner’s management. In the new year he will begin the task of winning Kværner’s other shareholders over to his side.

Worth noting

• "It is not the task of the Storting to decide how much passengers should pay for their train tickets," says Arne Wam, acting chief executive of the national railway company NSB. He feels there is no correlation between the demands made on NSB and the financial resources allocated to it by the government. (Aftenposten)
• Kjell Inge Røkke will probably have to depend on help from his arch-enemy Tore Lindholt, head of the National Insurance Scheme Fund, if he is to gain control of Kværner. Trade and Industry Minister Grete Knudsen says she hopes Aker Maritime and Kværner can reach an agreement. (Aftenposten)
• Storebrand’s new chief executive may be announced today. Storebrand’s board of directors have someone in mind, but the individual does not want his name published just yet. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Supermarket billionaire Stein Erik Hagen has emerged as Telenor’s largest private investor. Mr Hagen’s family-owned company Canica has bought shares worth over NOK 60 million. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• An increasing number of elderly people are selling their family homes, and buying more centrally located apartments. The desire for fewer day-to-day problems and increased opportunities to travel outweigh their reluctance to move. (Nationen)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

Yesterday the board of the national railway company NSB announced the appointment of Einar Enger as new chief executive. Mr Enger is currently chief executive of the Norwegian dairy cooperative Tine Norske Meierier. We would have preferred the board to have chosen someone with a minimum of railway experience, for we have never quite believed in the maxim that a good manager can manage anything under the sun. But we wish Mr Enger good luck in a job which, under no circumstances, is going to be easy. The new boss’s most important task should be to weld NSB back together again as a company with a common cause – to provide the best possible service for NSB’s passengers. The strategy developed by the previous administration moved the company in completely the opposite direction. Splitting up the organization and introducing internal competition were meant to be the answer to the demands of the market economy. But the result was completely off the mark in relation to the market that NSB is meant to serve. Today, NSB is seen as a company riddled with problems and characterized by poor customer service, deteriorating safety and financial chaos. It will be up to the board and the new chief executive, in close cooperation with NSB’s many skilled employees, to get the company back on track.

NOREG