Norway beefs up security (nrk.no)

Concerned about the potential for terrorist strikes, the Norwegian authorities are boosting their security measures, starting with oil installations and energy supplies. According to the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, sources in the US intelligence community sent a warning to the Norwegian authorities on Friday, before the explosion late Saturday night in Bali. The National Police Security Service (PST) has issued a new security assessment based on new information. PST head Per Sefland has declined to comment reports that his service received heightened terrorism warnings from the USA; he says there is no immediate likelihood of a terrorist attack in Norway. Minister of Justice Odd Einar Dørum says the state of alertness has been stepped up of late, particularly around oil and energy supplies.

Norway rejects EU demand for control over oil stockpiles (Aftenposten)

The EU’s proposal to extend joint EU policy to cover oil stockpiles and to use them to regulate oil prices has aroused the ire of the EEA sceptics in the Storting. Former petroleum minister Marit Arnstad (Centre) feels the Government should speak out clearly against EU plans to use emergency stockpiles to reduce high oil and gas prices. The Socialist Left, also an anti-EEA party, expects the Government to keep the Storting informed on developments in this matter. Even Labour, which has a proprietary interest in the EEA Agreement, is worried.

Stoltenberg defends strong party ties to LO (Aftenposten)

The Labour Party’s dialogue forum defends the party’s collaboration with the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO). What should be done with these ties in the event that Labour joins a coalition with other parties is an issue that has not been discussed in the party. The sentiment so far is that the binding cooperation between Labour and LO should be maintained and developed further, at both local and national level, and in relation to the confederation as well as individual unions. Working members of the Labour Party should also be union members. These are the unequivocal views of the dialogue forum, which presented its report and recommendations at the Labour Party national convention yesterday. One of Labour’s foremost objectives is to achieve a binding majority cooperation with other parties after the 2005 general elections. Party leaders do not yet want to commit themselves on how this will affect the form of association with the unions.

Labour antagonizes Centre and Socialist Left ( Dagsavisen)

For the first time, the Labour Party has committed to writing its wish to collaborate with other parties on the political left for the purpose of establishing a political majority. At the same time, however, it has managed to offend both parties. Labour’s dialogue forum presented a report yesterday offering a plan for regaining the party’s former status – a report which has both good news and bad news for the left and centre. The good news is that for the first time, Labour has declared in writing that it seeks a mutually binding centre-left cooperation, either in the form of a governing coalition with other parties, or in the form of a Labour Government with formal majority support in the Storting. The bad news is that Labour is also setting a number of political goals that these two parties will never accept: the possibility of a new EU membership application in 2005 or 2006, further amalgamation of local authorities, and closer collaboration with the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions.

State power company curbed ( Aftenposten)

Statkraft, the state-owned power conglomeration, finally came up with a measure that enabled Minister of Labour and Government Administration Victor D. Norman to give the green light to the acquisition of 45.5 per cent of Agder Energi for NOK 5.5 billion. The Norwegian Competition Authority’s disapproval of the deal changed to an approval on the condition that Statkraft complies with orders it has previously rejected. To begin with, it must sell off power stations worth nearly the same amount that it is paying for its acquisition. Once this has been done, there is no reason why Statkraft should not buy Agder Energi. Competition in the southern Norwegian power market will be assured.

Trebled power exports drive rates through the ceiling ( Nationen)

Norwegian power producers have tripled their power exports so far this year, with the result that reservoirs are low. This is now being used to justify a sharp increase in electricity rates this winter. Exports from January to September this year reached 12.6 billion TWh, against 3.8 TWh for the same period last year. The high export level continued in September, despite precipitation 30 being per cent below normal. A number of power producers have announced rate hikes of 30 per cent this winter.

Government finally does something for Think ( Aftenposten)

The Government will try to save Think, the electric car built in Norway, by exempting business use of it from taxation, by promoting government purchases of it and by creating a fund for supporting private buyers. A bill containing a package of measures to save Think was submitted to the Storting by Labour, the Socialist Left and the Centre Party. The three parties also propose to open bus lanes to electric cars and to implement a requirement, to go into effect in 2004, that at least 2 per cent of total car imports must be zero-emissions vehicles, increasing to 20 per cent in 2013. These proposals are a final attempt to rescue Think. The three parties are not impressed with the Government’s efforts so far. They feel the Government has not shown sufficient resolve and that it has been inexcusably defensive.

Fewer employees to do the job ( Dagsavisen)

The Government takes the view that the municipal sector should manage its present workload with a smaller workforce. The reason, according to Minister of Local Government and Regional Administration Erna Solberg, is that the rest of Norway is suffering under labour shortages. The current rise in unemployment was far from her thoughts yesterday when she issued her challenge to the Norwegian Union of Municipal Employees (AOF). On the contrary – she intends to reduce the number of jobs in the municipal sector, not to cut costs but because Norway does not have enough workers to provide care for the elderly while maintaining current levels of municipal administration. Therefore, local government must be streamlined before the wave of ageing baby boomers peaks. Her message was not well-received by the unions. Indeed, as Ms. Solberg was giving her speech, the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions was calling for measures to halt rising unemployment.

Dagens Næringsliv named newspaper of the year (NTB)

In a competition organized by Mediebedriftenes Landforening (federation of Norwegian newsmedia), the jury named Dagens Næringsliv Newspaper of the Year. In addition to this recognition, DN took two firsts for best news layout in printed media and Internet media. Østerdølen, AftenpostenInteraktiv, VG Nett, Aftenposten’s Oslopuls and Bergens Tidende also took firsts in various areas. The awards were given at the autumn meeting of the Norwegian news editors’ association in Oslo on Monday. The jury examined 417 contributions from 53 different newspapers.

1. Worth noting:

• Minister of Foreign Affairs Jan Petersen has slated the Bondevik Government’s report carrying recommendations for an increase in cultural exchanges with other countries. He is also putting the brakes on efforts in 2003 as well. "The main point of the Rudengen commission was the plan to step up this effort, but I think that sort of thing is rather pointless," says Mr. Petersen. (Aftenposten)
• The EU Commission is using the ongoing enlargement process to put pressure on Norway to reduce tariffs on food quickly. "Norway should hurry to land an agreement before Hungary and Poland take their places on the other side of the negotiating table," says EU ambassador Gerhard Sabathil. (Nationen)
• The parliamentary committee on Scrutiny and Constitutional Affairs has asked Minister of Local Government and Regional Administration Erna Solberg to explain how she has handled the Mulla Krekar affair. Ms. Solberg must tell whether the Norwegian authorities were aware of reports that Krekar had spent time in his homeland, Iraq, after having been granted residency in Norway. (Aftenposten)
• A number of health and care institutions operated by non-profit organizations are in dire financial straits due to an unanticipated extra item on payments into the pension fund. (Vårt Land)
• Kværner’s bankers, Den norske Bank, provided a guarantee that would safeguard former CEO Kjell E. Almskog’s lavish pension plan and salary in the event that Kværner folded. The Oslo Stock Market board does not rule out the conclusion that this is something Kværner should have provided information on. Mr. Almskog received nearly NOK 90 million for the period he served as group CEO. (Aftenposten)
• Since the patient indemnification scheme was introduced in 1988, over 22,000 patients have sought compensation for malpractice and injuries originating in Norwegian health care institutions. Over 5,000 patients have received indemnities totalling more than NOK 1.6 billion. (NTB)
• Sometime this week, the Fisheries Directorate will announce its decision as to where Keiko the killer whale will spend the winter. (NTB)

2. Today’s comment from Dagens Næringsliv

Knowledge of how pollsters slant their opinion polls should provide some comfort to the Bondevik Government. For the coalition partners’ ratings have been plummeting of late, and that sort of thing never fails to dampen one’s spirits. Kjell Magne Bondevik and Jan Petersen are therefore doing their best to shore up morale, asking their MPs to keep a stiff upper lip and take the long view. The voters will understand everything, they say, once the results of their policies become noticeable and they discover that the 2003 budget will not lead to famine and hardship. Even while hope seems remote, this is sound politics. Some essential reforms will hurt. If Mr. Bondevik’s policies bring interest rates down before 2005, if his Government can point to a few successful privatization cases, if the schools have shown measurable improvement – then old opinion polls will be forgot, or trotted out and exhibited as proof that the Government had the guts to take unpopular action. But whether Mr. Bondevik’s team has enough faith, endurance and luck to carry out its resolve is another matter entirely.