EU agreements unlikely to waver

NEWS ANALYSIS: There’s been a lot of debate in Norway lately over the country’s trade and cooperation agreements with the European Union (EU), and a political strike was planned Wednesday over yet another EU directive. The debate is tied to a new study of how especially the so-called EØS-avtale (EEA Agreement) has affected Norway’s economy, politics [...]

Stoltenberg blocks EØS alternatives

Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg has confirmed his government won’t launch any studies of alternatives to Norway’s main trade agreement with the EU, known in Norway as the “EØS-avtale.” That should hush up his government partner who’s been complaining about the EØS pact, at least for now. Liv Signe Navarsete, leader of the small Center Party [...]

Fewer immigrants arrive in Norway

As the economy shows signs of slowing down in Norway, fewer immigrants from eastern Europe are arriving in the country looking for work. More are still coming from southern Europe, but many find it hard to find a job despite Norway’s low unemployment rate. Newspaper Dagsvisen reported on Wednesday how Theo Nikolaidis from Greece has [...]

Oil fund boss a long-term optimist

As chief of Norway’s huge sovereign wealth fund, fueled by oil revenues, Yngve Slyngstad is one of the most powerful financial players in the world. He spent an hour with foreign correspondents in Oslo on Monday and said his most important message was that from a long-term perspective, there’s “less reason for concern” than what [...]

EU faithful face huge uphill battle

Support for the European Union (EU) has never been very high in Norway and those who still want Norway to join are now more in the minority than ever. This poses huge challenges for the struggling Europabevegelsen, but it’s soldiering on through crisis and constant opposition. Even its leader, Paal Frisvold, was quoted this week [...]

Norway backsliding on climate issues

Environmentalists were calling Norwegian Oil & Energy Minister Ola Borten Moe “a public relations agent” for Statoil on Friday, while industrial firm Aker reportedly may shut down its Aker Clean Carbon unit. Concerns are rising that Norway’s government and industry are backsliding on lofty promises to hinder climate change by cutting carbon emissions. Moe has [...]

Johnsen backs EU pressure on Greece

Norwegian Finance Minister Sigbjørn Johnsen says it’s more important than ever that EU leaders carry out the measures they’ve approved as they grapple with the ever-deepening crisis around Greek debt. Top EU officials have claimed they won’t disburse any more funds to Greece until the crisis package they thought was agreed last week is in [...]

EU support falls to new low

Fully 72 percent of Norwegian voters are opposed to joining the European Union (EU), according to a new public opinion poll. Only 12 percent are in favour, indicating record low support that EU advocates claim is clearly a result of the European debt crisis. The poll, conducted by research firm Synovate, is the worst in [...]

EU may want to tap into oil fund

EU officials are reportedly turning their wistful glance to Norway’s enormous oil fund, wondering whether there’s a way it can help ease Europe’s debt crisis. Fueled by Norwegian oil revenues and poised to keep growing, the fund is viewed as a possible source of capital at a time when Norway’s European neighbours are finding it [...]

EU rises in Peace Prize speculation

UPDATED: Thorbjørn Jagland, chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, has often referred to the European Union (EU) as one of the greatest peace experiments of recent decades. Now the EU itself has risen as a candidate to win the Nobel Peace Prize, and Jagland dropped a few more hints before the prize was due to [...]

Economy prospers despite EU crises

UPDATED: Revised forecasts suggest that the Norwegian economy will do better than originally expected this year, giving many consumers more money than they may otherwise have had. Nonetheless, Norway is not immune to the destabilizing forces in the world economy as the Oslo Stock Exchange fell for the seventh day in a row on Thursday [...]

Norway ‘world champion’ for credit

Norway is benefitting from the debt crises affecting the USA and the Eurozone as money continues to flow in Norwegian government bonds. Financial newspaper Dagens Næringsliv has revealed that the rate of interest on government bonds has fallen to a record low. Figures from bank DnB Nor show that interest on bonds with a 10 [...]

Professionals also now against EU

Now even a majority of professionals who are members of the large labour organization Akademikerne are opposed to membership in the European Union (EU). While Norwegians have twice turned down membership in the EU, members of Akademikerne have consistently been in favour, until now. The roughly 155,000 members of Akademikerne consist of educators, doctors, lawyers [...]

Boat tourists protest local taxes

Foreign boat owners who sail into Norwegian harbours are unhappy about special Norwegian taxes and regulations that greatly restrict how much time they can spend in Norway. They’re lobbying for a change in the law, so they can extend their visits beyond just six weeks. The Royal Norwegian Boating Federation (Kongelig Norsk Båtforbund, KNBF) reports [...]

Norway sends funds to Poland

Norway is earmarking a record amount of funds for social and environmental programs in Poland, the equivalent of EUR 578 million, after Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg signed a landmark agreement with his Polish counterpart Donald Tusk in Gdansk late last week. The money is part of Norway’s funding obligations through its European economic cooperation [...]

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