No way for Norway
Norwegian scepticism towards EU membership is higher then ever. The Prime Minister of Finland finds the Norwegian view hard to understand.
A recent opinion poll among Norwegians shows that the number of Norwegians saying “No” to a membership in the European Union has never been higher. In all age groups and also in all 19 counties of Norway there is a majority of people saying no. Even in the Norwegian capital Oslo, where the support of a Norwegian membership always has been high, there is now a majority of 51 percent saying no.
In all EU opinion polls in Norway for the last six years there has been a “no” majority. Trygve G Nordby who is head of the organization “Europabevegelsen” is working for a Norwegian membership in EU. He believes that Norwegians see that Norway is doing fine while the EU countries have been struggling with the financial crisis, and thus do not see the need for any change in Norway’s relations to the EU.
- As long as Norway is included economically through the European Economic Area (EEA), Norwegians don’t care about the fact that the country is politically marginalized, says Nordbyv to ABC Nyheter in a comment to the opinion poll.
As Norwegian scepticism towards EU membership is growing, the Prime Minister of Finland Mari Kiviniemi can’t understand why Norway is still outside the EU. She believes that the Nordic countries would become a strong alliance in EU if Norway became a member, because they have so much common issues. In meetings with Norwegian politicians she urges them to work for a Norwegian membership.
- Norway has to pay a lot to be part of the EEA, and at the same time has to act in accordance with laws and regulations which the country cannot influence the outline of. That’s why it is so hard for me to understand why Norway is outside EU, says Kiviniemi to Norwegian newspaper Aftenposten.
Both Norway and Iceland of the Nordic countries are not members of the EU, but part of the EEA. However, Iceland is now in negotiations for membership and opinions polls on Iceland show that the population is positive to a membership. If Iceland becomes a member, Norway and Lichtenstein will be the only two EEA-countries left.
