UDI backlog to be cleared by next year (Dagsavisen)

Thousands of cases piled up at the offices of the Immigration Directorate (UDI) will be dealt with by 1 July next year. This guarantee has been issued by Local Government and Regional Affairs Minister Sylvia Brustad, who has established an emergency team of 25 civil servants whose job will be to clear the backlog. After 1 July next year the maximum time taken to deal with asylum applications will be three months, while family reunification cases should take no longer than five months. According to the Ministry, this means the UDI should have no more than 10,000 cases pending at any one time. At the end of June this year 23,000 people were waiting for their cases to be dealt with by the UDI.

No price tag on election promises (Aftenposten)

Conservative chairman Jan Petersen is still refusing to put a figure on the tax cuts promised in his party’s election manifesto. Mr Petersen says this is because his party does not have access to all the budget figures that the ruling Labour Party has, and that the Conservatives therefore do not want to make specific promises linked to next year’s national budget. "If we had been hard pressed we could have put a figure on our promises, but I think we have sufficient credibility not to do so," said Mr Petersen at a press conference yesterday.

LO leader warns against Conservative government (Dagsavisen)

The general election will be a choice about social reform. The Labour Party should form a coalition with the Christian Democrats if this would keep the Conservatives and the Progress Party out of office. A Conservative government would have a negative impact primarily on women and trades union members. This is the message Gerd-Liv Valla, president of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), is sending to LO members, voters and Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

PM still hopeful of pact with Christian Democrats (Aftenposten)

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has still not given up hope of forming a coalition with the Christian Democrats after the election. He has made it clear that the Labour Party is willing to form a government together with other parties. "I wish to tell the Centre Party and the Christian Democrats that they can achieve more with us than with the Conservatives. It is three years since we opened the door to a collaboration with the political centre. So far they have rejected our offer. However, I respect their desire to project themselves as an independent government alternative," said Mr Stoltenberg.

Centre Party veteran cautions Bondevik (Verdens Gang)

Veteran Centre Party MP, Johan J. Jakobsen, has cautioned his old friend Kjell Magne Bondevik not to compromise his principles in his eagerness to become prime minister. Mr Jakobsen fears that in order to secure the PM’s post in a new government, the Christian Democrats will give way to Conservative demands over the construction of "extremely polluting gas-fired power stations". Such a move would be tremendously damaging to Mr Bondevik’s credibility as a politician, according to Mr Jakobsen, who holds the record as Norway’s longest serving MP. He is now leaving the Storting after 32 years.

Wave of companies break disclosure rules (Dagens Næringsliv)

So far this year the Oslo Stock Exchange has notified the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission of 331 suspected breaches of the disclosure rules in connection with insider trading. The figure is ten times higher than in the same period last year, and could lead to a deluge of criminal charges being brought by the Commission. Behind the explosive increase is a new electronic surveillance system, which the Oslo Stock Exchange started using in November last year.

Sell-offs give record half-year results (Dagens Næringsliv)

The sale of non-core businesses has enabled Statoil’s chief executive, Olav Fjell, to present the company’s best ever half-year results. Profits after tax stood at over NOK 10 billion, a rise of NOK 3.3 billion compared to the same period last year. This represents a jump in net profits of 45 per cent. "This is a good result. It is due to good market conditions and internal efforts to improve efficiency and reduce costs," said Mr Fjell.

Worth Noting

• Delays at the UDI hit Africans as well as applicants from South East Asia and the former Soviet Union particularly hard. They must wait almost 50 per cent longer than other asylum-seekers for a decision. (Aftenposten)
• The majority of Norwegians will not benefit from the Labour Party’s election promises. Tax relief is being given to those with incomes over NOK 289,000, while the average income in Norway today is NOK 287,800. (Dagbladet)
• Men who commit acts of domestic violence risk being thrown out of their own homes, if Justice Minister Hanne Harlem gets her way. She is also promising improved police response to cases of domestic violence. (Dagsavisen)
• The negative effects of alcohol would increase dramatically if it were made cheaper, according to a recent report. We would drink more, more lives would be lost, we would see an increase in violence, and the number of accidents would rise if Norwegian alcohol prices were cut to Swedish or Danish levels. (Aftenposten)
• Late last night SAS’s board of directors gathered for a secret crisis meeting in Stockholm. The board is under increasing pressure. Scandinavian MPs are demanding to know the truth about the recently revealed scandal involving the manipulation of ticket fares. "I want a full presentation of the facts. The board must explain its knowledge of and involvement in the affair," said Norwegian Transport Minister Terje Moe Gustavsen. (Verdens Gang)
• While Norwegian politicians are worried over the efforts of the Finnish company, Sampo, to take over Storebrand for NOK 20 billion, Statoil can invest an equally large sum to acquire one or more partners in the international energy market. (Aftenposten)
• The Centre Party wants to recall the Storting specifically to debate the controversial Storebrand takeover deal. The objective is to achieve an explicit political majority in favour of keeping Storebrand in Norwegian hands. (Aftenposten)
• Children who live on farms with livestock have fewer allergies and suffer less asthma than other children. They even have a smaller chance of becoming allergic if their parents are full-time farmers rather than part-time farmers. (Nationen)

Today’s comment from Dagsavisen

The Conservatives, led by Jan Petersen, are promising the voters a dramatic cut in tax levels. It is a message which Mr Petersen has sold with great success this spring and summer, with record high opinion poll results as a consequence. For that reason the Conservative leader does not think he has to tell the voters which taxes and public charges he will cut, or by how much tax receipts will be reduced. The Conservative leader is also woolly when it comes to questions about what items of government expenditure the party plans to cut. It is an untenable situation. The voters have a right to clear answers from the Conservatives about where tax cuts will be made. The Conservatives have indicated such huge cuts that it will be impossible for the party to fulfil all its promises. Just which cuts are the most important for the Conservatives is something the voters need to know. The fact is that it is impossible for the Conservatives to meet all the expectations which are now being created by Mr Petersen’s vague promises of tax relief. Jan Petersen must therefore tell the voters clearly and unambiguously what his priorities are for the next four years.