"Today the Government is submitting a report to the Storting on Norway and Europe. The report is also intended to be an invitation to the Norwegian people to take part in a broad and open debate on developments in Europe and, not least, on Norway’s position in this context," said Foreign Minister Thorbjørn Jagland.

"There is general political agreement on the Government’s point of departure. Norway’s association with the EU is primarily through the EEA Agreement, but also through other cooperation arrangements that supplement it. The report is not being presented at a time when our nation is deeply divided on the issue of Norway’s future course in relation to Europe. Thus it is not a report that is either for or against EU membership.

"The report is a response to the fact that there have been important developments in Europe since the beginning of the 1990s, when we had extensive and heated debates on our policy towards Europe. The report deals with the changes that have taken place as a result of the fall of the Berlin Wall, the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the changes of regime in Central and Eastern Europe, and how these events have affected the foreign, security and defence policy parameters in Europe. It also discusses the changes taking place as a result of the ever-closer integration of national economies and the growing interdependence of the countries of Europe.

"The report examines how these trends have affected EU cooperation and discusses the consequences this will have for Norway and EEA cooperation, which links Norway with the internal market. The report is intended to lay the groundwork for a broad debate on these developments so that the parties in the Storting can formulate their views on how they can be dealt with," said Foreign Minister Jagland.