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USD 1 = NOK 6,80 No. 16 - 18 May 1993
CONTENTS:
Norway stands firm on whaling issue (1-2)
Revised budget will swell deficit (3)
No EC decision from trade union congress (4)
Farmers accept subsidy cuts (5)
Foreign oil companies allowed to sell gas (6)
Statoil doubles profits (7)
Fifteen year sentence for environmental crime (8)
Grass still green - for most (9)
Sami university requested (10)
A push for polar research (10)
norinform/1-2 18 May 1993
NORWAY STANDS FIRM ON WHALING ISSUE
Norwegian whalers will resume commercial minke whaling as planned,
despite the IWC's decision to extend the moratorium and despite strong
condemnation from 14 countries. Nevertheless, the country will remain
within the IWC. "The criticism directed against Norway is extremely
unfortunate and does not rest on any firm basis," says Prime Minister
Gro Harlem Brundtland. In the Government's opinion, the credibility of
the IWC has been considerably impaired after the Kyoto meeting and the
majority of the members have gone back on the principles of the 1946
whaling convention and international laws governing the responsible
management of resources.
The Government does not believe that international pressure will lead to
fewer export orders or that Norway's reputation will be damaged.
Minister of Foreign Affairs, Johan Joergen Holst says "it would be
intolerable if a small country were to be pressured into submission by
big countries who only wish to pay environmental penance in currency of
negligible value to them."
"The Government assumes that if Norway bows to pressure, it could lead
to more than just the end of whaling, " says Minister of Fisheries Jan
Henry T.Olsen, referring to recent speculations that trawler fishing
could be the next target for environmentalists. He also reaffirms that
Norway's decision to resume traditional minke whale hunting is based on
solid scientific deliberations. The scientific committee of the IWC has
confirmed that the minke whale population is big enough to be harvested.
According to the Minister, 2,000 to 4,000 animals is a realistic target
for harvesting, while Norway only intends to take "a few hundred" minke
whales this year. ../...
norinform/2 cont... 18 May 1993
The political parties in the Storting, Norway's national assembly, stand
firmly behind the Government's decision. A typical comment comes from
Conservative leader Kaci Kullmann Five who states that the party has
complete confidence in the Government on this issue.
But Greenpeace is less than enthusiastic about the Norwegian viewpoint.
"The solid IWC majority against the resumption of minke whaling shows
that the Government and the Storting stand virtually alone on the issue.
This attitude is unworthy of Norway," says the Norwegian campaign leader
Geir Wang-Andersen. He is unwilling to divulge any concrete plan of
action that the organization now has, but says that Greenpeace will
naturally follow a line of non-violence.
An opinions poll carried out for the newspaper Aftenposten shows that 70
per cent of Norwegians support the Government's decision, but a good
half (52 per cent), say the hunt should be postponed until there is more
international understanding for Norway's viewpoint and in order to avoid
boycotts. Only 28 per cent say Norway should resume minke whaling
immediately and as many as 61 per cent of the governing Labour Party's
own voters are in favour of postponement. The poll also reveals that
views on whaling are not affected by political allegiance. There is a
large majority in favour of whaling from left to right in the Storting.
norinform/3 18 May 1993
REVISED BUDGET WILL SWELL DEFICIT
Norway's budget deficit will swell by a further USD 294 million, to
reach a total of USD 7.8 billion as a result of the revised national
budget recently submitted by the Government. Lower oil prices than
anticipated are the cause of the increased shortfall. The Government
calls for cuts of USD 514 million in state transfers and proposes
increased tax on wealth and the introduction of a special employer tax
on all individual salaries exceeding USD 88,000 per year. Through these
measures it hopes to swell the state coffers by about USD 148 million.
The Government was reluctant to follow up all the proposals of a
committee appointed to look into possibilities for cutting state
expenditure. Therefore, it did not propose reductions in sick pay, which
at present provide 100 per cent compensation from the first day of
illness. Consumer subsidies will also be unchanged.
Money saved will be channeled into an expansion of measures to aid the
very old and those in need of intensive nursing. The Government will
also submit a plan of action for work and training schemes for the under
25s. Furthermore, it pledges continued efforts to combat unemployment
and to secure threatened jobs in sectors such as shipbuilding. The
latter will be effected through expanded guarantees, which the
Government believes will bring ship financing onto a competitive footing
with other countries.
The national assembly, the Storting, will debate the revised budget
before the summer recess. The proposals are likely to be hotly disputed
- not least those which will involve increased taxes. Summer recess
will commence around 22 June and the Storting will not reassemble until
after the General Election in September.
norinform/4 18 May 1993
NO EC DECISION FROM TRADE UNION CONGRESS
At its recent 4-yearly congress, the Norwegian Federation of Trade
Unions (LO), voted to taking a stance on the issue of Norwegian
membership of the European Community. An overwhelming majority of
members passed a resolution to await the result of membership
negotiations before an extraordinary congress of LO makes its
recommendation to the Norwegian people, who will make their opinions
known through an advisory plebiscite.
The congress also issued a warning against the privatization of
Norwegian banks, which landed in the hands of the state in the aftermath
of the bank-crisis. At least one of the major banks must remain under
state ownership, said LO.
A central theme of the congress was unemployment. In his opening
address to delegates, LO leader, Yngve Haagensen strongly condemned what
he termed "attacks on the welfare state and the social safety net."
Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland said in a subsequent speech that
the Government is preparing new measures to aid the long-term
unemployed. Congress delegates expressed their warm approval of
Government efforts to establish legislation against "social dumping".
New laws will ensure that foreign workers in Norway receive normal
tariff wages.
The congress re-elected Yngve Haagensen for a further four-year period.
norinform/5 18 May 1993
FARMERS ACCEPT SUBSIDY CUTS
For the first time since Norwegian agricultural polices were formulated
in the 1970s, farmers have agreed to take a cut in government subsidies.
In the negotiations this spring, it was decided that transfers would be
reduced by about USD 66 million to USD 1.7 billion. Last year, farmers
received a modest increase totalling about USD 12 million.
The state's decision to cut subsidies helps align Norwegian agriculture
with GATT demands and EC policy, and meets the recommendations of the
Storting. "We don't agree with the new policies, but as a responsible
organization we had to cooperate to buffer the negative effects as much
as possible," explained the head of the Norwegian Farmers' Association,
Bjoern Iversen, afterwards. A less weighty organization, the Norwegian
Smallholders' Union, walked out on the negotiations with a declaration
that the cuts would not only be in subsidies, but also in 3,000
agricultural jobs.
But for consumers the agreement will lead to 15 cent reductions in the
kg price of meat. Eggs will be about 10 cents cheaper per kg. Food is
becoming generally cheaper in Norway - down by 1.4 per cent in the past
12 months. General inflation has been 2.6 per cent in the same period.
Food prices represent 15 per cent of the services and commodities in the
Central Bureau of Statistics' consumer price index.
norinform/6 18 May 1993
FOREIGN OIL COMPANIES ALLOWED TO SELL GAS
Foreign oil companies will from now on be allowed to participate in
sales of gas from the Norwegian continental shelf. Prime Minister Gro
Harlem Brundtland, in a recent address to an international energy
conference in Oslo, confirmed that the Government will request the
national assembly to change the system at present in use. She also
cautioned the EC against forging its own energy and gas policy shortly
before Norway, which is one of the world's leading gas producers, can
become a member of the Community.
"The situation reminds me of 1972, when the EC formulated its fisheries
policy just before the Norwegian referendum on membership. The EC
policy that was adopted had considerable influence on the outcome of the
voting," said Brundtland, who feared that the energy policy the EC is
about to approve could have the same effect on a second plebiscite.
The news that the Storting is to alter regulations governing sales of
gas was welcomed by the foreign oil companies who operate on the
Norwegian shelf. The proposed changes, which will shortly be submitted
to the Storting, involve an expansion of the Gas Negotiation Committee
(GFU), so as to include license owners in the areas where the gas is
produced. Under current rules, all the companies can prospect for gas
and produce it, but there their participation ends. Sales and marketing
are assigned to GFU, a wholly Norwegian group in which Statoil, Hydro
and Saga each have one member.
norinform/7 18 May 1993
STATOIL DOUBLES PROFITS
Statoil's first quarter profits were USD 180 million, compared to 90
million in the same period last year. However, the C.E.O. at the state
oil company, Harald Norvik, expects a weaker return in the second
quarter.
The improvement was primarily due to better oil prices, cost reductions
and considerably enhanced financial dealings. Financial losses were
posted at USD 150 million in the first three months last year, but this
year the company ran a profit in kroner equalling about USD 100 million,
largely due to currency transactions. Statoil's refining and marketing
division, which in recent years has been one of the company's two black
sheep, showed a profit of about USD 44 million. The other -
petrochemicals - ran a USD 14 million deficit in the first quarter.
Despite storms which slowed down offshore production in January,
operating profits on exploration and production rose by USD 90 million.
Average oil prices rose by 29 cents a barrel from the first quarter of
1992 to the same period in 1993, and a stronger dollar has provided an
extra boost - resulting in the Norwegian krone equivalent of a two
dollar a barrel increase in the past year. The state oil company's
turnover rose by USD 270 million to 3.1 billion in the first quarter,
while its operating profits increased by 75 million to about USD 500
million in the same period. Pretax results improved by USD 367 million
to about 610 million in the first quarter.
norinform/8 18 May 1993
FIFTEEN YEAR SENTENCE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL CRIME
Norway's Government has brought forward a bill which, if approved by the
national assembly, will entail far stricter punishment for environmental
crime.
A special omnibus clause in the Penal Code will allow courts to impose
sentences of up to 10 years imprisonment for those found guilty of
seriously polluting air, water or soil. If the damage is so extensive
that life is lost or health endangered, the offender risks a maximum
prison sentence of 15 years. The new bill follows a direct initiative
from the Director General of Public Prosecutions, Georg Fr. Rieber-
Mohn, who has long advocated stiffer sentences for crimes against the
environment.
Under the proposed legislation damage to reserves of protected birds, or
wildlife can lead to a maximum penalty of six years imprisonment. Damage
or destruction of cultural monuments such as churches will also be
punishable by a six-year maximum sentence.
The new provisions will primarily be employed against particularly
serious violations of the laws concerning pollution and wildlife. From
now on, the prosecuting authorities will give clear priority to cases of
serious environmental crime. "With this special omnibus clause in the
Penal Code - which can be brought to bear against all types of
environmental crime - we now have legislation which is in the
international forefront, and far ahead of corresponding laws in our
neighbouring countries," says Rieber-Mohn.
norinform/9 18 May 1993
GRASS STILL GREEN - FOR MOST
"Most Norwegians still live a good life. Despite the negative
consequences of unemployment, the majority are better off now than they
were in the 80s," said Svein Longva, head of the Central Bureau of
Statistics when he recently presented the main findings of a study of
living conditions to Minister of Finance Sigbjoern Johnsen. "Despite
major fluctuations in the Norwegian economy, we appear to have emerged
from the 80s with roughly the same distribution of income as we had at
the start of the decade. The figures reveal a weak trend towards
evening-out up to 1986, and slightly increased differences for the rest
of the decade," he says.
But Longva made no attempt to conceal that spiralling unemployment
creates problems. The long-term unemployed and young people with little
education can fall into the poverty trap unless they find jobs. Not
surprisingly, the study revealed that social security has become an
increasingly important source of income. The labour market is dominated
by the 25-55 age group. More and more young people are channeled into
the educational system while more and more older people live on social
security. Another characteristic is that unemployment patterns have
changed. There are now more long-term unemployed, particularly among the
young and the elderly. These people have more difficulties making ends
meet than those with a job and they suffer more frequently from nervous
disorders.
The social and economic problems that were shown to result from
unemployment clearly demonstrate the importance of having full
employment as the overriding goal of Norway's economic policy, said the
Minister of Finance in a comment to the findings of the report.
norinform/10 18 May 1993
SAMI UNIVERSITY REQUESTED
A new goal for the Sami Parliament is the establishment of a Nordic Sami
University within four or five years, states the organization's
president, Ole Henrik Magga. If the Government concedes, it will be the
country's fifth university. After Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland
said that her Government would not recommend an EC agreement if results
in negotiations fail to satisfy the critical scrutiny of her Minister of
Fisheries - Jan Henry T. Olsen - Magga comments that he wishes she would
give similar status to Sami views on the EC.
A PUSH FOR POLAR RESEARCH
The Government has prepared a White Paper to bolster polar research. A
controversial result is the planned move of the Norwegian Polar
Research Institute from its present location in Oslo, to Tromsoe - about
2,000 km to the north - by 1998. The institute will continue as an
independent agency for research and mapping of polar regions, under the
auspices of the Ministry of the Environment.
A division of the institute will be opened in Tromsoe next year. Its main
objectives will be research on drift ice, environmental toxins in the
food chain, environmental impact analyses in connection with the opening
of a commercial northern sea route to Asia, and the maintenance of
academic contacts with Russian scientists.
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