Norway and the EU

On 29 September, President of the Norwegian parliament Thorbjørn Jagland was elected Secretary General of the Council of Europe. Now he intends to modernise what he describes as the world’s most important human rights organisation, and make it more effective.

On 14 September, the Labour Party, Socialist Left Party and Centre Party received the majority of votes in the national election, giving them a mandate to govern for another four-year period. “We will focus on securing jobs, renewing and improving the welfare society, and playing an active role in climate issues,” says Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg.

Špela Berlec is a 21-year old liaison officer with responsibility for Norwegian delegations during the Slovenian Presidency of the EU. One of her duties is to be the first to shake hands with Norwegian Ministers and State Secretaries arriving in Slovenia.

Tuesday the Norwegian Foreign Minister addressed the Norwegian Parliament on important EU and EEA matters. The Foreign Minister highlighted that it is not always apparent how broad Norway's relations with the EU are. Norwegian debate on Europe would be more constructive and less polarised if this fact could be made clear, he said. The Foreign Minister also mentioned several times the close co-operation with the Slovenian Presidency of the EU.

The issue of energy and climate change is one of the main priorities of the Slovenian Presidency of the EU. This was also the topic of a conference on Europe in Oslo 25 February.

The Agreement on the European Economic Area – the EEA Agreement – is the cornerstone of the relations between Norway and the European Union. The EEA extends the Internal Market, with its so-called four freedoms (free movement of goods, capital, services and persons), to Norway and the two other EEA EFTA countries.

As one of very few western European countries, Norway is not a member of the European Union. Norway has held referendum on the issue of EU membership twice, first in 1972 and then again in 1994. On both occasions, a rather narrow majority of the Norwegian population rejected membership (in 1994, 52% were against and 48% were in favour).

In the beginning of 2008 the Nordic Battle Group (NBG) started its 6-month stand-by period for potential participation in EU-led crisis management operations. – Improved European efficiency in crisis management is strenghtening the international community, which is also in Norway’s interest, says FM Jonas Gahr Støre.