Translation from the Norwegian

Mr President, Representatives of the People,

I greet the newly elected Storting as it takes up its solemn responsibilities with the wish that the fulfilment of these duties will be of benefit to our country.

The Government’s values are based on the principles of democracy and the rule of law, and on our Christian and humanist cultural heritage. Respect for the individual, for human dignity and for human rights is of fundamental importance.

This year we are commemorating Norway’s centennial as an independent state. Our level of welfare is higher and the Norwegian economy healthier than ever. This means that our opportunities to help those who are less fortunate than ourselves are also better than ever.

The Government will secure and expand social welfare schemes and continue to give priority to efforts to combat poverty, both nationally and internationally.

Norway will proactively pursue its international engagement for peace, human rights and development.

The Government will pursue an active environmental policy based on the principle of sustainable development.

The main goal of the Government’s economic policy is employment for all, increased wealth creation, equitable distribution and long-term sustainable development.

Norway’s oil and gas assets provide great opportunities, but they also entail great responsibilities in terms of management. The Government will actively follow up the ethical guidelines for the Norwegian Government Petroleum Fund.

The petroleum revenues will be managed in such a way as to ensure that future generations are also able to benefit from them. For this to be achieved, it is important to follow the guidelines for a sound, gradual phasing-in of the petroleum revenues into the economy. The Government’s economic policy will also take account of the fact that expenditures will increase in the future, for example due to the growing number of elderly persons.

The Government is in the process of presenting a proposal for the establishment of a government pension fund based on the National Insurance Scheme Fund and the Norwegian Government Petroleum Fund.

The labour force is our prime resource. The pension system and other social welfare schemes, and the taxation system must therefore encourage people to work. The Government will follow up the Storting’s decision to reform the pension system. In this connection, the Government has presented a bill on the introduction of compulsory service pensions.

The Government will continue the income policy co-operation. Moderate wage settlements are necessary to ensure the competitiveness of the internationally exposed sectors of the economy and low unemployment.

The Government will co-operate with the social partners on creating a more inclusive workplace. It will submit a white paper to the Storting on strategies and measures aimed at people who have difficulty gaining a foothold in the labour market. These efforts will be reinforced by the establishment of a new employment and welfare administration.

The Government will submit a white paper on its policy for the elderly to the Storting.

The Government will implement the tax reform. The aim is a better, more equitable taxation system that will promote value creation.

Efforts to modernise and simplify the public sector will be continued. User-orientation, greater freedom of choice and new technology are key elements to this end.

The Government highly values the work of the voluntary sector, and will seek to create favourable conditions for such work. It will also increase tax relief for donations.

The Government will follow up the white paper on cultural policy and promote an active and participatory cultural life.

The Government wishes to foster an open society and will facilitate inter-religious dialogue, both nationally and internationally. The role of the national church will be strengthened, and the reform of religious education will continue.

The Government will fulfil Norway’s international obligations regarding indigenous peoples and national minorities. The Finnmark Act will be implemented, and the agreement concerning consultations between the Sami Parliament and the central government authorities will be followed up.

Efforts to integrate and include immigrants and their descendants in Norwegian society will be intensified. The Government is in favour of controlled immigration that is beneficial to society. Protection must be given to those who need it. Efforts to prevent forced marriage and female genital mutilation will be continued.

The Government will seek to give families with children security and greater freedom of choice, for example by means of good pension schemes and the cash benefit scheme, and will intensify efforts to provide day-care facilities for everyone who needs them. The Government will submit a white paper to the Storting on the evaluation of the child maintenance reform.

The Government will keep up its efforts to prevent violence in close relationships.

Preventive measures targeted at vulnerable children and young people will be strengthened. The interdisciplinary co-operation between the Child Welfare Service and other services for children, young people and families will be further developed.

The Government will continue its efforts to promote equality. A new joint enforcement apparatus to prevent discrimination will be established on 1 January 2006.

Health care services will be further developed, with particular emphasis on the treatment of mental illness and substance addiction.

Priority will continue to be given to preventive health care, for example through the Plan of Action for Physical Activity and by means of improved communicable disease control and tobacco prevention measures.

The Government will submit a white paper to the Storting on the nursing and care services of the future, in which increased capacity and higher quality will be important aspects.

The Government has initiated a broad evaluation of the hospital reform, which is intended to provide a comprehensive assessment of the functioning, suitability and results of the health enterprise model.

Efforts to promote equality and increase accessibility for disabled persons will be continued.

The Government is actively addressing the challenges that were discussed in connection with the deliberations on the white paper on power and democracy. A study will be carried out to assess the consequences of incorporating provisions on local self-government into the Constitution. The Government will bolster its assessment of the implications of international treaties.

Efforts to develop and modernise the municipal sector will be continued. Continued modernisation is necessary to ensure high-quality, reliable social welfare schemes in the future.

The Government will propose new provisions for inter-municipal co-operation to be incorporated into the Local Government Act. In addition, it will present a proposition containing proposals for amendments to other parts of the Local Government Act, for example on the direct election of mayors.

The aim of the Government’s regional policy is to maintain overall settlement patterns and release the potential for wealth creation throughout the country. The Government will present a white paper on its policy for the capital.

The Government will seek to ensure that Knowledge Promotion, the reform of basic education, is implemented successfully. The measures designed to raise competence among school administrators, teachers and instructors will be continued. New curricula for primary and parts of secondary education will be introduced in the autumn of 2006. A broad evaluation of the quality reform in higher education has been launched.

The Government will encourage more focus on learning throughout working life and closer co-operation between the education system and the social partners.

Investment in research will be increased. In the years to come, important priorities will include basic research, innovation and internationalisation.

The Government will continue to pursue a future-oriented industrial policy with a view to facilitating innovation and restructuring, increasing value creation and further developing the welfare society. The aim is for Norway to become one of the world’s most innovative countries. The efforts to simplify rules and procedures for the private sector will be intensified.

The Government will promote a sustainable and competitive marine sector, among other things by fostering a market and consumer perspective.

The economic development of the agricultural sector and the viability of new market-based industries will be secured by using the resources found in the agricultural sector and rural communities.

The Government’s goal for the petroleum sector is to ensure that resource management and wealth creation on the Norwegian continental shelf have a long-term perspective and take place within an environmentally sound framework and in coexistence with other sectors. The Government will present an integrated management plan for the Barents Sea and the sea areas off the Lofoten islands.

The white paper on safety at sea and oil pollution emergency response will be followed up.

The Government will promote the use of renewable energy and natural gas.

The national measures for fulfilling Norway’s obligations under the Kyoto Protocol will be further developed. The Government will implement the necessary measures to ensure that Norway complies with its emission obligations under the Gothenburg Protocol by 2010.

The Government will give priority to public transport and environmentally friendly transport. Measures to promote the use of modern environmental technology in the transport sector will be continued. The Government will actively seek to increase road mobility and improve safety in all forms of transport.

The Government will give priority to measures designed to achieve the goal of halting the loss of biological diversity by 2010.

The Government will continue to pursue a proactive policy to restrict construction in the shoreline zone and to improve public access to the shore. When the Norwegian Defence sells properties, their value for outdoor recreation shall be taken into account.

The Government will continue to restructure and modernise the Norwegian Defence. Norway’s ability to participate in international operations and multinational rapid reaction forces will be strengthened.

Norway’s security is based on a strong NATO and a UN with a strong peace-building capacity. The Government will work to strengthen the role of these organisations.

The Government will give priority to the international operations in Afghanistan, Sudan, Iraq and Kosovo.

The Government will continue to advocate stronger international commitment to further nuclear disarmament and will support efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Based on the outcome document of the recent UN Summit, the Government will actively engage in the fight against poverty, protection of the civilian population in areas of conflict, peace-building and UN reform.

The Government will continue to support efforts to strengthen the UN human rights system and the international legal order.

In the area of development co-operation, the Government will advocate more debt cancellation, increase development assistance and promote a concerted international effort for Africa. The Government will present an action plan on the environment and development policy and advocate closer international co-operation on natural resource management based on the principle of sustainable use.

The Government will continue its efforts in the World Trade Organisation to strengthen the multilateral trade regime. In the current round of negotiations the Government will give priority to improved market access for Norwegian goods and services, favourable conditions for a viable agricultural sector throughout the country and more equitable trading conditions for the developing countries.

The Government will continue to intensify efforts to conclude new EFTA free trade agreements.

The Government will continue to pursue an active European policy. Norway will contribute to reducing social and economics disparities in the enlarged European Economic Area through the new financial mechanisms under the EEA Agreement.

The Government will pursue a strategic and active High North policy with a view to safeguarding Norwegian interests. Co-operation with Russia, key Western countries and the EU will be intensified.

A resolute policy will be pursued in the fight against crime. Norway will help to combat terrorism and organised crime through broad international co-operation and other means. The Government will actively follow up its plan of action to combat human trafficking for the period 2005-2008.

The Government will follow up the white paper on the tsunami disaster in South-East Asia and the central crisis management system. A crisis support unit will be established to assist the Government’s crisis council and the ministry in charge in a crisis situation. Priority will be given to providing effective help to Norwegians abroad in the case of crises and disasters.

The parliamentary elections changed the political composition of the Storting. The new parliamentary situation may have an effect on the basis for following up some of the announced policy matters.

I pray that God will bless the deliberations of this Storting, and I hereby declare the 150 ^th> session of the Norwegian Storting to be open.

Given at the Royal Palace in Oslo on 7 October 2005