Finance minister may relax iron grip on Norway’s oil wealth (Aftenposten)

Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen may be willing to relax his grip on Norway’s oil wealth a fraction. He has invited his fiercest critics to take part in discussions to find out how much of the country’s oil revenues may be spent without unsettling the national economy. In the past six months a number of leading economists have been scathingly critical of the minister’s minimal use of Norway’s oil revenues. At the end of September the Government Petroleum Fund stood at NOK 357 billion, while only NOK 12 billion has been allocated for use in next year’s budget.

Future looks bright (Dagsavisen)

High unemployment seems to have become a thing of the past. According to the Directorate of Labour, all those who complete their educations in the next few years can expect a job for several decades to come. Demand will be especially high for healthcare professionals, engineers and those with an IS/IT qualification. Newly qualified accountants, lawyers and social scientists will have to be prepared to work outside their original field of study.

Neo-nazi groups becoming more violent (Aftenposten)

According to the National Police Security Service (POT) the level of law-breaking by Norwegian neo-nazi groups has risen this year. "In a Norwegian context a lot has happened over the past year. The number of neo-nazis is small, but those committing criminal acts have a great many previous convictions and are very active," says Henrik Lunde of the Antiracist Center in Oslo.

Not sure about national insurance scheme (Verdens Gang)

The President of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), Yngve Hågensen, says his organization is planning to propose a change that would mean the end of the national insurance scheme as we know it today. "After more than 40 years, the scheme is no longer working. Successive governments have not managed to meet their obligations and people who have qualified for full benefits risk ending up with only the minimum state pension," says Mr Hågensen.

Norvik says no to state ownership (Aftenposten)

The Government should not be the sole owner of firms competing in the private sector, says chairman of the Oslo Stock Exchange Harald Norvik. He was previously chief executive of the state-owned oil company Statoil and believes the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy cannot continue to own the company once it has been listed on the stock exchange. When Statoil is partially privatized sometime next year the government will own around 35 per cent of the shares listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange. This represents an extremely demanding situation for the state, says Mr Norvik.

Airline passengers staying away in record numbers (Aftenposten/Sunday)

So far this year the airlines have lost a total of 850,000 passengers and there has been a 10 per cent drop in the number of planes flying over Norway. This has resulted in a revenue loss of NOK 88 million for Gardermoen airport alone. According to the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) it is probably the largest ever decline in air traffic. The CAA are extremely worried by the situation and fear it may become worse when ticket prices rise as a result of the new passenger tax.

Could save NOK 65 million by switching to buses (Aftenposten/Saturday)

Eleven of Norway’s rail lines are currently making a combined loss of NOK 98 million. If NSB, the national rail company, switched to using buses on these routes instead of trains it could achieve savings of NOK 65 million. This is the conclusion of an report from the consulting company Vista Utredning. However, the report does not recommend replacing trains with buses on all 11 lines, since on some routes there are no alternative roads to use and on others NSB has already invested in new rolling stock.

Worth noting

• According to a recent opinion poll Norwegians believe that there are two main reasons why almost half of all employees are not members of a trade union. They are too expensive and people do not need them. The most important reason for trade union membership is access to help if there are problems at work. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Agriculture Minister Bjarne Håkon Hanssen is less ambitious than the EU in the battle to curb the spread of mad cow disease. Fish meal in cattle feed will still be permitted, and feed containing bone meal residues will not be taken out of circulation. (Nationen/Saturday)
• NSB’s largest losses come from the Oslo region. It is a myth that the largest subsidies go to railway lines in remote rural areas. The reason for the deficit in the Oslo region is the major investment in rolling stock which is only used in the morning and evening rush hours. (Aftenposten)
• Storebrand’s new chief executive, Idar Kreutzler, is the company’s first top boss to be recruited internally. "The employees are very happy. He is one of us," says senior union representative Nina Seiersten. (Dagsavisen/Saturday)
• A record NOK 43 billion has flooded in to the companies listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange this year as a result of share issues. This compares to just NOK 15 billion last year. Most of the share issues were carried out during the first half year when technology shares were at their peak. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• According to an opinion poll carried out by market researchers Opinion, 43 per cent of those asked believe Norway’s national broadcasting company NRK should be funded by advertising, while 38 per cent want the current licence fee system to remain. Only 10 per cent believe pay-TV has a future. (Aftenposten)
• A number of major events will take place in Oslo during 2001. First is the official visit of Queen Elizabeth, next is the wedding of Norway’s Crown Prince. According to the police the security arrangements for both events will be enormous, and will probably cost around NOK 20 million. The year ends with a grand Nobel banquet – celebrating the centenary of the Nobel Peace Prize – and protecting the around 40 prominent guests, including the likes of Yasir Arafat and Nelson Mandela, will not exactly come cheap either. (Aftenposten/Sunday)

Today’s comment from Aftenposten

In a few days Norway will take its seat as a member of the UN Security Council. It is an office that may prove to be as full of problems and challenges as of honour. Norway won the seat, which it will hold for the next two years, after a hard battle and much diplomatic lobbying. Victory was a feather in Norway’s cap, but the blush of victory soon fades and feathers soon become tattered. What is needed now is to fill the task with some meaning. If we don’t, we might just as well not have worked so hard, spent so much money or used so much of the foreign service’s time to get ourselves a seat on the Security Council. It is undoubtedly an onerous task we have fought for the right to shoulder. If we are serious about doing the job well, we will have to carry on fighting for the next two years.