The Royal Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Oslo Press Division

Norway Daily No. 76/00

Date: 17 April 2000

STRONG PRO-EU ADVANCE (Aftenposten-Saturday)

56.1 per cent of the people are in favour of Norway joining the EU. In a poll carried out by Opinion AS for Aftenposten, support for EU membership rose six percentage points in four weeks, and opposition to Norwegian EU membership is now down to 43.9 per cent. According to this survey, Norwegian membership has even gained majority support in northern Norway, and support in the Socialist Left Party went from 21 per cent in December to 43 per cent in April. Foreign Minister Thorbjørn Jagland believes people have noticed the shift in Norway’s European policy that followed the change in Government. Sigbjørn Gjelsvik of No to the EU finds some of these figures out of phase with his own experiences.

AMNESTY ACCUSES NORWAY OF HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS (Dagsavisen-Sunday)

Amnesty International’s headquarters in London will call Minister of Justice Hanne Harlem to answer for a number of human rights violations. Yes, we will ask the Minister of Justice to halt the detainment of all asylum-seekers who arrive in Norway without proof of identity, says press spokesman Thomas Horne of Amnesty International Norway. According to the Immigration Directorate, 29 asylum-seekers were detained last year. In four of these cases, police had doubts as to their identities.

NEW SAS PLANES RIDDLED WITH DEFECTS (Aftenposten-Sunday)

The new Boeing 737 aircraft used by SAS since 1998 have so many defects that the manufacturer has had to pay huge compensation sums, the amount of which SAS declines to disclose. SAS was the first airline to buy the new Boeing 737s, paying several billion kroner for 56 planes in the largest single procurement in the company’s history. SAS spokesmen emphasize that these defects have not had any impact on safety.

BJØRNDALEN EXPECTS SETTLEMENT TO PASS (Dagsavisen-Saturday)

Opposition to this settlement is peanuts compared to what we faced in 1996, says Kjell Bjørndalen, president of the Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions. Mr. Bjørndalen is confident that a majority of his union members will vote for the settlement recommendation negotiated by the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) with the Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO), but he is not certain it will be enough to avoid a strike. The Norwegian United Federation of Trade Unions is the heaviest single player in the coming ballot referendum, fielding over 100,000 of 225,000 voting members of the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO).

NOK 2 BILLION BUDGET OVERRUN (Dagens Næringsliv-Saturday)

According to Government spokesmen, five frigates will cost NOK 14 billion, around NOK 2 billion more than planned. This is not enough to threaten the project politically, despite grumbling from the Conservatives and the Progress Party. The cost of this procurement will be paid over a space of ten years, and the final amount will depend on exchange rates between the euro, the dollar and the krone.

CASH BENEFITS COMPROMISE POSSIBLE (Nationen-Saturday)

Labour and the Socialist Left support the compromise proposed by the Centre Party, which would implement cutbacks in the cash benefits scheme. The proposal would restrict benefits to parents who stay home with their children. Deputy party chairman Åslaug Haga took the initiative in calling for some curtailment in the scheme. These three parties together comprise a sufficient parliamentary majority to carry the proposal through, but the Centre has committed itself to the present scheme until 2001.

POLICE STATISTICS TELL DIFFERENT STORY (Aftenposten)

The success rate of the police in clearing up crimes is not as high as their own statistics indicate. The police register four cases as solved if they recommend charges against four persons for a crime, but Statistics Norway counts the case as solved only if they are convicted. Police statistics represent a major misrepresentation of the facts in respect of rape, for instance. The Ministry of Justice operates with a 44.7 per cent success rate for apprehension of crimes in this category in 1998, while Statistics Norway’s figure is 23 per cent. Director General of Public Prosecutions Tor-Aksel Busch will now take steps to bring order to this situation.

CHILDREN OF GERMAN SOLDIERS TAKE FIGHT TO COURTS (Dagsavisen)

Children fathered by German soldiers during the occupation are now standing up and demanding redress for wrongs inflicted by Norwegian society. 57 have submitted compensation claims, and another 50 are expected to follow. It is not impossible that the total amount of compensation claimed could reach as high as NOK 100 million, says lawyer Randi H. Spydevold. Government authorities earlier this year have rejected the claims of seven who filed a lawsuit against the Norwegian state in the Oslo City Court late last year. If the case goes to court, the government will argue that the claim has lapsed by operation of the statue of limitations.

PROPOSAL TO DECRIMINALIZE BLASPHEMY (Vårt Land-Saturday)

The National Council of the Church of Norway is no longer inclined to prosecute blasphemy as an offence under Norwegian law. The Council concurs in a proposal by the Freedom of Speech Commission to strike the blasphemy statute from the lawbooks. This statute has not been invoked since the trial against poet Arnulf Øverland in 1933.

WORTH NOTING

• Christian Democratic Party chairman and former Minister of Children and Family Affairs Valgerd Svarstad Haugland is not worried that the Centre Party may join Labour and the Socialist Left in amending the cash benefits scheme. (Nationen-Saturday)
• After twenty years of public sector reforms, Norway leads the world in the number of municipal, county and government employees. During this period, Sweden has reduced the number of public sector employees by over 5 per cent, while Norway has increased it by 50 per cent. (Verdens Gang-Saturday)
• After four turbulent years in which 1400 post offices have been shut down, the number of employees in Norway’s postal service has not decreased appreciably. (Aftenposten)
• A Securitas money transport was robbed at 1:30 this morning, and once again, it took place in the Drammen area. According to witnesses and police, gunshots were fired, but no one was hurt. (Dagbladet)
• Statoil and ICA will invest NOK 1.5 billion upgrading and expanding over 1000 Statoil service stations in Scandinavia. Some stations will expand their minimart operations, while others will become modern automotive products stores. (Dagens Næringsliv)
• A mind-boggling NOK 1.5 trillion will be invested in oil and gas in the Norwegian offshore sector over the next 25 years. A major new round of concessions means jobs for production yards with shrunken order books. (Dagsavisen-Sunday)
• Kjell Inge Røkke continues to drain liquid assets from Aker RGI. So far this year, he has appropriated NOK 2.1 billion. Employee representatives are highly critical of the rate at which funds are leaving the company. (Dagbladet-Saturday)

TODAY’S COMMENT from Vårt Land

Two former Labour Party leaders take courage after a recent opinion poll has reported a swing in public opinion in favour of Norwegian membership of the EU. Thorbjørn Jagland, now Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs, and Reiulf Steen, now head of the European Movement in Norway, are both confident that this is not a mere wave of sentiment, but an indication of a long-term trend. Six years have passed since Norway last rejected EU membership, and no one can say that non-membership has been a disaster. But if Norwegians are actually undergoing a real change in views, it is more likely due to the EEA Agreement and the resulting cooperation. Norway adheres to EU regulations in most areas, and with the exception of farming and to some extent fishing, conforms as much as any country can. And we have seen that dancing to the EU’s fiddle has not been as detrimental as many had feared. Furthermore, one may be forgiven for wondering what is the point of staying out when it doesn’t seem to make any difference in practice. Be that as it may, when the EU membership issue again appears on the agenda, it is likely that the focus will once more turn on principles, and gut-level reactions to the EU will be reactivated. It would help, however, if the parties which really advocate EU membership showed their colours and informed us of their plans. This approach would probably give us a more active and balanced debate. We cannot afford to let the EU be an issue which does not concern us.