The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 74/00

Date: 13 April 2000

COURT OF FAMILY AFFAIRS PROPOSED (Aftenposten)

A nationwide foundation proposes the creation of a family court with powers to order treatment for victims, offenders and other persons involved. This court would have the authority to step in where the likelihood that abuse is taking place is assessed at over 50 per cent. But Prof. Aslak Syse of the University of Oslo is critical. I cannot see that charging and convicting someone on the basis of inadequate evidence strengthens the legal rights of children. At least one in every twenty children in Norway is sexually abused.

PUBLIC TRUSTEES UNQUALIFIED TO MANAGE ASSETS (Nationen)

Incompetent persons (often minors with assets of their own) whose assets are taken charge of by the public trustee’s office risk losing thousands of kroner depending on where they are domiciled. Municipal interest rates can vary by several percentage points, and substantial differences in financial yield are the result. It is completely irresponsible to put these assets under the administration of persons with no economic qualifications whatsoever, says Carsten O. Five, editor-in-chief of Dine Penger, a personal finances periodical. Mr. Five feels the entire system is ripe for extensive review.

NON-SMOKERS PREFERRED (Dagsavisen)

If a smoker and a non-smoker with otherwise equal qualifications were seeking the same job, forty-five percent of Norwegian employers say they would hire the non-smoker. Nearly as many–40 per cent–also consider non-smokers more efficient workers, according to a survey conducted by MMI for the Norwegian Council on Tobacco and Health. We cannot have a situation in which smokers are barred from certain jobs. As long as smoking is legal in Norway, smokers cannot be discriminated against in the job market, says Evy Buverud Pedersen of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).

STOLTENBERG AND JAGLAND COURTING EU (Dagbladet)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg and Foreign Minister Thorbjørn Jagland are working hard to breathe new life into Norway’s relationship with the EU. They take every opportunity to demonstrate that the Labour Government is more pro-EU than the Bondevik Government. Norway’s European policy has taken a new turn. The centrist coalition Government did not take advantage of all the opportunities. We have received a number of responses from EU quarters indicating that our change in course has been noticed, says Mr. Jagland.

INTEREST RATE HIKE ADDS TO STRIKE MOTIVATION (Dagens Næringsliv)

Central bank Governor Svein Gjedrem’s one-quarter point interest rate hike is a gift to union leaders campaigning against the wage settlement package that will soon be put to the ballot. This rise in interest rates removes the final argument in favour of the settlement, says Torbjørn Kristoffersen, head of the Oslo chapter of the Norwegian Union of Transport Workers.

MAJOR STRIKE LOOMING (Dagbladet)

The likelihood of a major strike in May rose several notches yesterday. Rolf Jacobsen, president of the Academics, predicts that the interest rate hike will chill the climate of negotiations in the public sector. The temperature of the Norwegian economy does not indicate any need for higher interest rates at this point, says Anders Folkestad of the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations (AF). This interest rate hike is not sufficiently justified, especially considering that inflation is on its way down, says senior economist Stein Reegård of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).

INTERNAL DISCORD ON BANK ISSUES (Dagens Næringsliv)

The structure of the banking industry still causes unrest in the Labour Party. Finance Minister Karl Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen will not present the party’s policy until summer, despite former bank policy spokeswoman Ranveig Frøiland’s call for a prompt clarification. Considering Labour’s criticism of the Bondevik Government on this issue, the opposition parties are astonished at the new Finance Minister’s response. But, says Labour finance policy spokesman Dag Terje Andersen, We have a new Government, and the new Minister of Finance must be given time to become thoroughly acquainted with the issues. We await a report from the Government Bank Investment Fund, and we will do nothing until it comes.

WORTH NOTING

• Yesterday’s slight interest rate hike is expected to calm down the housing market somewhat without causing it to crash. Real estate experts still predict 10 per cent growth in property prices this year. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Central bank Governor Svein Gjedrem brushes off criticism of yesterday’s interest rate hike by pointing out the importance of predictable monetary policy. Norges Bank does not like the continued high level of debt-financed consumption here in Norway. (Dagsavisen)
• TV2 will soon be Norway’s most-viewed television channel. Recent figures from Statistics Norway give TV2 higher evening viewer ratings than NRK. (Vårt Land)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Dagbladet

A 0.25 per cent increase in the central bank’s lending rates is hardly earth-shaking, but the consequences could be dramatic if the union rank-and-file vote down the settlement between the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) and the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO) as a result. If this is the outcome, Norges Bank will have caused considerable trouble for itself and for the country as a whole, and it surprises us that this aspect of the matter does not seem to have been considered. No one can claim that Svein Gjedrem was compelled by circumstances to raise interest rates. The krone’s exchange rate against the euro, which still forms the basis of Norway’s official monetary policy, requires no increase in interest rates at this time. We fear that banks will respond by raising their own lending rates, but borrowers should not accept this quietly. They should transfer their loans to where interest rates are lowest. The banks are making good money these days, so they have room to take up some slack. Their enormous profits are due to the fact that borrowers are paying their debts on schedule and banks’ losses are minimal. But rising interest rates could change all this, and not only borrowers, but the banks, too, stand to lose.