Norway most restrictive in asylum cases (Dagsavisen)

A survey by the international refugee organization ECRE shows that Norway is the most restrictive country in Europe when it comes to granting asylum. Only 50 people have been granted asylum in Norway this year, out of around 8,000 who applied. However, from now on asylum seekers will not have to wait around for months before a decision is made. Local Government and Regional Affairs Minister Sylvia Brustad is to lay a report before the Storting today in which she demands that it should take no longer than five weeks to process an application for asylum.

Isolate criminal asylum seekers (Aftenposten)

The Government is working to speed up the expulsion of criminal asylum seekers. Among the measures being planned are security guards to be posted at reception centres where criminal asylum seekers are being housed, criminals to be kept separate from other asylum seekers, and deportation orders to be issued without the individual having been interviewed. Justice Minister Hanne Harlem and Local Government and Regional Affairs Minister Sylvia Brustad both believe strong measures are necessary, not least to protect the interests of other asylum seekers. "These are sensible measures, but I don’t think they go far enough," says Kristin Krohn Devold (Conservative), leader of the Storting’s Justice Committee.

Statoil lost the oil battle (Aftenposten)

In the reorganization of Norway’s oil policy Statoil has come out the loser. The company asked to take over the entire State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI), but the Government is only planning to sell off 15 per cent, worth NOK 30 – 40 billion. At the same time the company will lose the right to manage the commercial operations linked to Norway’s gas pipelines. The Government has a majority in the Storting for the main elements of its oil policy, but the centre alliance is divided. The Centre Party will vote against the partial privatization of Statoil.

Statoil flotation next summer (Dagsavisen)

The flotation of Statoil shares and the sale of part of the State Direct Financial Interest (SDFI) will be the largest financial transaction ever carried out in Norway. It is not certain how much the Government will make on the sale of its assets in the North Sea oil and gas fields. The Government currently reckons that the recent Telenor flotation brought in NOK 73 billion. However, the revenues that will be generated by this change in Norway’s oil policy correspond to more than ten times the stock market value of Telenor.

Energy minister lost the battle (Verdens Gang)

The Government’s internal disagreements over the future of Statoil became so heated that Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg finally had to intervene. "No one is completely happy with the result," says Mr Stoltenberg. VG has learned that Petroleum and Energy Minister Olav Akselsen wanted to transfer 30-40 per cent of the SDFI to Statoil.

LO is losing members (Dagens Næringsliv)

The Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) has lost 10,000 working members since the beginning of 1999. Today only 28.5 per cent of employees are LO members, compared to half the working population in the 1950s. "We have 830,000 members behind us, and that gives us a unique impact when we talk to the Storting or the Government," says LO Vice President Gerd-Liv Valla.

Voters punish progress party (Aftenposten)

Support for the Progress Party has dropped 5.7 percentage points to 20.4 per cent, according to market research company Opinion’s party barometer for December. The Labour Party is once again the country’s largest party with 24.6 per cent support, a marginal advance on last month’s figures. The Christian Democrats have made most progress since November, and now have the backing of 14.9 per cent of the electorate, up 4.3 percentage points. The Conservatives have gained 1.3 percentage points to stand at 18.4 per cent, while the Centre Party slipped back 1.2 percentage points to 5.4 per cent.

Worth noting

• Finance Minister Karl-Eirik Schjøtt-Pedersen has won the battle over the partial privatization of Statoil. The oil companies and Petroleum and Energy Minister Olav Akselsen have ended up the losers following an intense struggle for a share of Norway’s oil riches. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• Health Minister Tore Tønne is to give psychiatrists the right to treat the mentally ill without their consent. He also plans to allow a greater use of force in connection with care in the community. The Norwegian Medical Association is unconvinced. (Aftenposten)
• The National Rail Administration’s hard pressed chief executive Steinar Killi says former Labour Party transport ministers Kjell Opseth and Sissel Rønbeck made a great mistake when they failed to ensure strong leadership for the Administration when the national railway company NSB was spit into three separate organizations in 1996. (Dagbladet)
• National Rail Administration chief executive Steinar Killi has no plans to resign, but it now seems clear that Transport Minister Terje Moe’s confidence in Mr Killi is not unlimited. (NTB)
• According to the Directorate of Immigration around 2,000 Bosnians have applied for Norwegian citizenship, around 20 per cent of the 10,000 or so Bosnians currently resident in Norway. (Vårt Land)
• This year as last asylum seekers who have sought sanctuary in Norwegian churches will be given a few days’ amnesty at Christmas. The amnesty will apply to 11 children and 16 adults.

Today’s comment from Dagbladet

Norway has had an oil policy for almost thirty years. On the whole it has been built on broad compromises negotiated in the Storting. Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said yesterday that the Government’s proposed partial privatization and reorganization of the oil sector is a good basis for another such political compromise. Time will tell. In the meantime only the Christian Democrats and the Liberals are obvious allies. The Conservatives may be willing to get on board after a few rounds of negotiation, while the Centre Party’s current stance runs counter to the Government’s main proposal. If the new oil policy is to be as robust as the one it replaces, the Government should ensure its final form has the support of both these parties.

NOREG