Nato slams Norwegian Air Force (Aftenposten)

A top secret Nato report has slammed the Norwegian air defence capability. While Norway’s fighter aircraft are among the best in the world, none of the ground-based support functions is up to scratch. During the Joint Winter training exercise things were so chaotic that barely anyone knew which aircraft were in the air, where they were or what they were doing. According to Major General Collin Archer, the Norwegian Air Force is already making the necessary organizational changes.

Storebrand to sell off its subsidiaries? (Verdens Gang)

Yesterday Storebrand chief executive Idar Kreutzler got his answer: 83.5 per cent of the company’s shareholders have accepted the offer made by the Finnish financial services company, Sampo. But it was not enough. The law requires an acceptance rate of 90 per cent. However, there is another possibility. Without asking the shareholders, least of all Den norske Bank (DnB), Storebrand can sell its subsidiaries to Sampo. If that were to happen Sampo would have achieved the same result as a straight takeover of the entire Storebrand group, since it is in the subsidiaries that all the company’s operational activities lie. Afterwards, what remains of Storebrand can share out the proceeds among the company’s shareholders.

Sampo gambles on legal loophole (Aftenposten)

Sampo chief executive Björn Wahlroos believes Norwegian legislation gives him control over Storebrand. In a letter to the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), the Norwegian Ministry of Finance writes that a foreign financial institution may own between 50 and 100 per cent of a Norwegian financial institution, while a Norwegian company is obliged to own 100 per cent. It is this difference in the treatment of Norwegian and foreign companies which Sampo’s lawyers are planning to exploit. They claim it is sufficient to have control over 83.5 per cent of the shares. If the claim is upheld DnB will no longer be able to block Sampo’s acquisition. Sampo has already applied for permission to own 83.5 per cent of Storebrand’s shares.

Sampo boss asks DnB to sell (Dagens Næringsliv)

Sampo chief executive Björn Wahlroos says Den norske Bank (DnB) should sell its Storebrand shares after the company’s other shareholders gave him their full backing yesterday. "DnB is acting very strangely," he said. DnB remains unmoved. "Only half of Storebrand’s shareholders have accepted Sampo’s bid unconditionally. Almost a third said yes, but with strict conditions attached," pointed out Jarl Veggan, DnB’s vice president of corporate communications.

Foreign Ministry slow off the mark (Aftenposten)

"In my opinion, if the authorities have not made an active effort to inform Bulgarians about the situation in Norway, they have been clearly negligent," said Einar Steensnæs (Christian Democrat), deputy chairman of the Storting’s Foreign Affairs Committee, though he was at pains to point out that he was basing his comments on information published in the media. However, the Norwegian Foreign Ministry is now taking a more active approach. Ambassador Arnt Rindal will travel to Bulgaria today, and advertisements will shortly be published in two national and two local Bulgarian newspapers.

Class divide growing (Dagbladet)

Last week Jens Stoltenberg and the Labour Party leadership patted themselves on the back and congratulated themselves on the fact that a UN report had named Norway as the world’s best country to live in. But the report’s underlying figures tell another story. The gap between rich and poor in Norway is growing sharply. The report says that social and economic disparities are increasing, the number of poor people is growing and the income gap between men and women is widening. When Jens Stoltenberg took over as prime minister he promised to stop the gulf between rich and poor from getting bigger. The same policies and promises were also made by former Labour prime ministers Thorbjørn Jagland and Gro Harlem Brundtland.

Political centre fights for a place in the sun (Aftenposten)

Both the Christian Democrats and the Liberals invited the media to press conferences yesterday to draw attention to something other than the debate on development assistance and tax cuts which the Conservatives and Labour Party are currently embroiled in. The Liberals presented a comprehensive memo with two equally comprehensive appendices to justify their proposal to open the borders to 10,000 job-seekers from non-EEA countries each year. The Christian Democrats contented themselves with presenting a four-page brochure detailing a "package of measures" intended to help create a larger number of innovative companies in Norway.

Worth Noting

• Norway may impose visa restrictions on Bulgarians intending to visit this country. The Norwegian authorities will discuss the wave of asylum-seekers from Bulgaria with the other Schengen signatories. The Bulgarian authorities say they will provide aircraft and money to help asylum-seekers return home. (Aftenposten)

• A new international report says that food production in Norway will increase sharply if current changes in the climate continue. (Dagsavisen)
• Norwegian companies generate gross revenues of around NOK 550 billion each year. The counties of Oslo and Rogaland account for half that figure. However, growth is greatest in Finnmark and Møre og Romsdal counties. (Dagsavisen)
• Sampo’s application to take over Storebrand hangs in the balance. Bjørn Skogstad, head of the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission, says that it would take a lot to get the 90 per cent shareholding rule set aside. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• The Norwegian licence-fee funded national broadcasting company, NRK, needs money to secure its digital future. It is planning to send the bill to television viewers in the form of a swingeing NOK 135 increase in the licence fee. (Verdens Gang)
• So far this year, 1,326 drivers have lost their licences due to speeding. This means the traffic police are confiscating seven driving licences a day. (Dagbladet)
• For the first time ever it looks as though Norway will manage to fill its 1,500 tonne tariff-free quota of strawberries for the export market. This means that Norwegian trucks laden with strawberries will leave the country for destinations in Sweden, Denmark and Germany between 15 July and 15 August. (Nationen)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

Dismal opinion poll results hang like black clouds over Jens Stoltenberg’s head. Today he kicks off the Labour Party’s election campaign at the traditional summer camp of its youth wing (AUF). Even if the Prime Minister’s speech should mark the start of a good election campaign for the Labour Party, there are strong indications that a Conservative-dominated government will replace today’s Labour administration. That being the case, Jens Stoltenberg should not listen to the AUF leader’s advice about rejecting a coalition with the Christian Democrats. Instead he should reinforce the Labour Party’s invitation to the parties of the centre. We have supported the Labour Party’s desire for a majority government, either with the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party or with the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats. Jens Stoltenberg has rejected the first alternative, amongst other things on the grounds that the political differences between the Labour Party, the Socialist Left Party and the Centre Party are too great. This attitude is difficult to understand. On the contrary, it is understandable that many people in the Labour Party and the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) dream of just such an alternative. However, the opinion polls indicate that this constellation will remain simply a dream. It is, nevertheless, possible to envisage a government made up of the Labour Party, the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats after this autumn’s general election. Mr Stoltenberg is right in saying that his invitations to the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats have been rejected, in that they remain committed to a centre alliance alternative. But when the voters have rejected the centre alliance, anything can happen.