ISSN 0804-709X
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ATTN: PRESSE- OG KULTURKONTORET
THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Press Division, Oslo
NORWAY DAILY NO. 70-74/94 OeW/KJ
DATE: 13 April 1994
28 NOVEMBER LIKELY REFERENDUM DATE (Aftenposten)
"The 28th of November is a likely bet. This is the date that
reflects the wishes of the majority of the Storting," says Prime
Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. At yesterday's meeting with the
parliamentary leaders and representatives of the lobbying
organizations, the Conservatives, Labour and Progress indicated
their desire to hold the referendum after Sweden's, which will be
held on Sunday 13 November. Gro Harlem Brundtland emphasized that
this would enable the many who would like to know how Finland and
Sweden vote to take the results of these referenda into
consideration. Those who oppose membership of the EU would rather
hold the referendum on or before the date of the Swedish
referendum. "We knew the advocates of accession would go to any
lengths to manipulate the referendum," said "No to the EU" chief
Kristen Nygaard. Gro Harlem Brundtland thought it was most fair
to respect the wishes of the majority. The other participants who
support EU membership thought so, too, and wondered how things
would go if a minority were to decide.
EU TREATY APPROVED (Arbeiderbladet)
The legally binding treaty of accession between the EU, Norway,
Sweden, Finland and Austria was formally approved by the Norwegian
delegation last night. One year and one week after Norway
launched its membership negotiations, the treaty was finally
completed, barely meeting the European Parliament's deadline.
Spain had introduced new requests on Monday evening, concerning
administration of the waters off Svalbard. "The joint declaration
we have obtained on the Svalbard zone is quite satisfactory. It
ensures Norway's full national control over resource management
within the zone," said Eivinn Berg.
SERBS HOLD NORWEGIAN PRISONERS (Verdens Gang)
Four Norwegians have been detained by Serbian troops in Bosnia and
Serbia since Sunday's NATO strike at Gorazde. Two Norwegian UN
soldiers are being detained at a checkpoint in Bosnia, and two
Norwegian UN observers have been placed under "house arrest" in
Serbia.
NORWAY MAY CONTRIBUTE COMBAT TROOPS TO UN (Aftenposten)
The Defence Ministry is considering the possibility of offering
the UN an infantry battalion (800-1000 men) for combat duty. This
is the essence of a report soon to be submitted to the Storting.
"We must face up to the fact that overseas duty is here to stay.
The only question is how it should be organized and the extent of
our involvement," says State Secretary Sigve Brekke of the Defence
Ministry.
90 NORWEGIAN OBSERVERS TO HEBRON (Aftenposten)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Bjoern Tore Godal was given the go-
ahead to send 90 Norwegian observers to Hebron at yesterday's
meeting of the Enlarged Committee on Foreign Affairs and the
Constitution. The only opposition came from the Progress Party.
Foreign Minister Godal said there was some likelihood that the
observers could be provided with light arms to use in self-
defence. However, the general view of the participating countries
is that the observers should not be armed.
NORWAY WORLD "PEACE MEDIATOR" (Dagbladet)
Senior officials in the Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs have
no peace. New requests for help to mediate in civil wars and
conflicts keep coming in, but the Ministry has to turn most of
them down. "It's correct that we have to turn down many
requests," says State Secretary Jan Egeland of the Foreign
Ministry. He admits that the intense involvement of Ministry
officials is wearing, and that they must thus set strict
priorities in a number of areas.
WORTH NOTING:
- 12 kg of cocaine was confiscated aboard a Norwegian-registered
ship in Tilbury, England, on Monday. Neither the owner nor the
crew are suspected of being involved in the smuggling.
- King Harald has decided that Princess Martha Louise will not
have to testify in court on her alleged affair with Philip Morris.
- "If we are capable of organizing the most successful Olympics of
all time, we ought to have faith in our ability to survive inside
the EU," said Norway's Olympic President, Gerhard Heiberg, in a
speech Tuesday evening.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
It looks like the Norwegian EU referendum will be held on 27 and
28 November. Provided, of course, that the European Parliament
approves the membership treaties this spring, and that accession
will be effective as of 1 January. If accession is postponed, the
referendum date should also be reconsidered. One would think that
advocates as well as opponents of EU membership would be
interested in utilizing all the time at their disposal to engage
in a thorough debate before the referendum takes place. The most
zealous opponents of accession have already raised a storm of
protest against holding the Norwegian referendum last. They would
have us believe that simultaneous referenda are the only
democratic alternative and all else is a display of power. Yet of
all people, they should not be concerned about the referendum
date. In their view, Norway should stay out regardless of the
outcome of the negotiations and regardless of what other countries
do. If that's what they really think, they ought to have the
courage of their convictions and act like they can win a majority
for their view even if Finland and Sweden vote for membership.
(Dagbladet)
DATE: 14 April 1994
SHARP CRITICISM OF SERBS (Aftenposten)
"What the Serbs are now doing to UNPROFOR troops can only be
described as pure harassment," says Defence Minister Joergen
Kosmo. He sharply criticizes the detention of six Norwegian UN
soldiers and observers by Serbian troops. Headquarters Defence
Command Norway is sparing no effort to find out what is happening
to the 40 Norwegian observers in the area. "It's obvious that
this has nothing to do with ensuring their safety, as the Serbs
claim. Neither we nor the UN can accept any restriction of this
sort on UNPROFOR movements by the Serbs," says Mr. Kosmo. He
emphasizes, however, that there is no cause for worry concerning
the safety of the Norwegian UN soldiers.
EU CEREMONY ON 17TH OF MAY? (Verdens Gang)
Will Minister of Foreign Affairs Bjoern Tore Godal sign the treaty
with the EU on our own national holiday? Tuesday 17 May has been
proposed as the date for the formal signing of the treaty between
the EU and the four applicant countries. "It's possible that
there will be a meeting of foreign ministers on 16 and 17 May, but
nothing has been decided," says State Secretary Marianne
Andreassen of the Foreign Ministry. "No to the EU" chief Kristen
Nygaard says, "I think it would be rather inappropriate to sign
and approve the treaty on the 17th of May. But the Government has
its own ideas on the concept of independence."
HAGEN DOES NOT WANT EU DEBATE (Arbeiderbladet)
Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen would prefer not to take a
stand on accession to the EU at the upcoming national convention
this weekend, leaving it instead to a subsequent meeting of the
national executive committee. "My personal advice to the voters
is a qualified Yes to membership," said Mr. Hagen yesterday. He
attaches particular importance to the security policy aspects of
EU membership, the consideration which is also most heavily
emphasized by advocates of union.
FEW WILL MISS NORWAY (Dagens Naeringsliv)
"The EU will not go into mourning if Norway declines membership
for the second time. In all likelihood, only Denmark and perhaps
Germany would be sorry to see Norway hold back. The other member
states will just shrug their shoulders and say, 'We gave them a
good offer and they turned it down'," says Danish Minister of
Fisheries and Agriculture Bjoern Westh.
HARSH CRITICISM OF IRAN (Arbeiderbladet)
The Storting's Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs has expressed
harsh criticism of Iran in connection with the Rushdie affair in a
recommendation presented yesterday. A unanimous Foreign Affairs
Committee expressed strong suspicion that the attempted murder of
William Nygaard, director of a publishing house, is connected with
Iran's death sentence against Rushdie. "As long as Iran does not
retract the death sentence or deplore the murder attempt, the
committee feels it has grounds for this suspicion," says Foreign
Affairs Committee chairman Haakon Blankenborg (Labour).
AIRBUS OFFICIALS DESTROYED COMPUTER FILES (Dagbladet)
Tax experts have again criticized the Airbus project. In a
confidential memo to the Directorate of Taxes, the law firm of
Wiersholm, Mellbye & Bech have characterized the project, in which
Norges Bank Governor Torstein Moland participated, as a qualified
tax evasion. The lawyers also believe that the people behind the
project have deliberately destroyed evidence that could have been
used as proof of illegal buy-back agreements. Finance Minister
Sigbjoern Johnsen refuses to comment. In 1990, while group
director of Norske Skog, Mr. Moland bought a NOK 75,000 share in
the Airbus project which enabled him to take a NOK 150,000 tax
deduction.
WORTH NOTING:
- Norway's eight largest insurance companies are collaborating on
guidelines to weed out high-risk customers. You'd better be in
good health when you contact an insurance company to buy health or
credit insurance.
- The Defence Ministry is now asking Headquarters Defence Command
Norway for a new report on the British fighter jet that flew over
Vassdalen when an avalanche took the lives of 16 soldiers during a
NATO exercise in 1986.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
We have every reason to be pleased that negotiations have been
concluded and that a legally binding treaty has now been
completed, giving us a definite treaty document to deal with.
Hopefully, this will enable us to be more objective as the debate
continues. The time has come for experts and political pugilists
to sit down and study this document in detail so we can avoid
exchanges based on the chance contents of random press releases.
Having said this, we would caution against the belief that this
document, 700 pages in all, provides an unambiguous statement of
what we will have to take a stand on. Yet there can be no doubt
that the importance of this document is that the Norwegian people
now have available as much relevant information on the
consequences of their choice as is humanly possible. Everyone
seems to agree that Sweden's choice is highly relevant to Norway,
so there should be no doubt that we ought to take advantage of the
opportunity to wait and see how the Swedes vote. (Dagens
Naeringsliv)
DATE: 15 April 1994
MORE NORWEGIANS TO BOSNIA? (Verdens Gang)
The government is considering sending 400 additional troops to
Tuzla to serve as a supply battalion for all UN personnel in the
area. Norway already has a helicopter flight wing and a field
hospital in the war zone in Bosnia. "We hope the battalion can be
put together as quickly as possible," says State Secretary Sigve
Brekke of the Ministry of Defence. The political leadership in
the Defence Ministry feel there is no risk in sending new troops
to the area. "The safety of our troops is adequate," says Defence
Minister Joergen Kosmo. State Secretary Brekke does not believe
it will be necessary for the Storting to increase the number of
Norwegian troops allowed to take part in UN operations. The
maximum was raised from 1,300 to 2,022 last year, but a decision
by the Storting is necessary because this battalion will be a new
unit.
OPPONENTS OF ACCESSION STILL WELL AHEAD (Aftenposten)
The outcome of Norway's negotiations with the EU seems to have had
little effect on the attitudes of the public towards accession,
according to an opinion poll conducted by Opinion AS. 48 per cent
say No to Norwegian membership of the EU, 33 per cent say Yes and
19 per cent are undecided. The Yes responses are up 2 per cent
and the No's down 1 per cent. The Don't-know group has fallen by
2 percentage points. The eventuality of Swedish and Finnish
accession turns things around completely, however. Then 42 per
cent would vote in favour of accession, 37 per cent against and 21
per cent undecided.
LOW EU PRICE LEVEL WILL COST BILLIONS (Dagens Naeringsliv)
Low food prices if Norway joins the EU could cost the national
treasury billions. If we join the Union, the taxpayers will have
to foot the bill for the drop in value of food products. Full
food-price parity with the EU will require Norwegian food products
produced using high-cost Norwegian inputs to be sold at low EU
prices. This will have far-reaching financial consequences for
food retailers, the food processing industry and farmers. The
treaty negotiated between Norway and the EU stipulates that the
drop in value is to be compensated over the fiscal budget.
10 MILLION FOR DEBATE (Aftenposten)
The Government will probably suggest allocating approximately NOK
10 million to the EU debate for non-party organizations and at
least an equal amount to the political parties. Central Labour
sources expect the Government to submit the funding proposal
either in its report to the Storting on the outcome of the
negotiations or in connection with its referendum proposition.
Both are expected in May. These allocations require a decision by
the Storting. The NOK 10 million for the non-party organizations
will probably be divided equally into a Yes pot and a No pot, and
it will be up to each organization to fight for its share of the
funds.
BUY-BACK AGREEMENT EXISTED (Aftenposten)
The Wiker Committee believes that Governor of Norges Bank Torstein
Moland had a buy-back agreement for his share in KS Airbus 320,
though he may not have known about it. This conclusion is
presented in a report sent to the National Authority for
Investigation and Prosecution of Economic and Environmental Crime.
The Wiker Committee is an official committee that has been charged
with investigating the Airbus affair and the suspicion of illegal
transactions by the banks. The report was written around a month
ago and has been kept under wraps until now. Mr. Moland is not
mentioned by name in the report, but he was one of the persons
behind IS Airbus, an investment company that owned 1.5 per cent of
the KS Airbus 320 limited partnership.
WORTH NOTING:
- The Norwegian overseas merchant fleet has grown by half a
million dwt. this year, and is now at 48.5 million dwt.
- Norwegian goods exports climbed steeply in March, reaching NOK
10.9 billion, an increase of NOK 1.3 billion, or 14 per cent, over
the same month last year.
-The SME (Social Democrats against the EU) is not afraid to accept
contributions from the Norwegian Farmer's Union. This does not
mean that the Farmer's Union will exert any influence on the SME's
anti-accession campaign, however.
- Alligators and crocodiles may take their place among the fauna
of the coastal border districts between Moere og Romsdal and Soer-
Troendelag counties. The municipalities of Aure, Hemne and Hitra
are seriously considering the idea of including these reptiles in
the business activities of the district.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
The limited partnership carousel centred on the infamous Airbus
project has now taken a serious turn. Yesterday's report from a
law firm called the project a "qualified tax evasion". The Wiker
Committee's report on the affair has now been submitted, and it is
no less severe in its criticism. All the doings of those
implicated must now be dealt with by the courts, and it is likely
that the general partners will be called to account by the tax
authorities. Some of them have already taken the consequences and
acknowledged their tax liabilities. This affair is serious enough
in its own right, but it also exposes a culture of wheeling and
dealing in high places in segments of the business community,
leaving many of those involved with little semblance of honour.
(Dagbladet)
DATE: 19 April 1994
WHALING LIKELY TO START IN JUNE (Aftenposten)
Once again, the Government will wait until after the annual
meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC) to set
quotas and open the whaling season. This year's meeting will be
held in Mexico and is scheduled to conclude on 27 May. "We are
getting ready to start commercial whaling in the beginning of
June. Interest in this year's season is running high. Twenty-
eight boats took part last year; there will be more this year,"
says whaler Olav Olavsen. Norway is well-prepared for this year's
IWC meeting. A draft proposal for new resource management
regulations was drawn up and sent to all 38 IWC nations well in
advance. "There is no guarantee that our proposal for new
management regulations will be adopted, but I have a distinct
feeling that Norway's views on whaling are increasingly gaining
understanding," says whaling commissioner Karsten Klepsvik. "We
have made our views widely known, also in circles which our
opponents had previously had to themselves," he says.
COMMISSION CRITICIZES MOLAND (Verdens Gang)
The current Governor of Norges Bank, Torstein Moland, should have
been disqualified for reasons of self-interest, from taking part
in the Kreditkassen bank's board meeting on 30 October 1991. His
actions did not constitute a punishable offence, however, and any
action on the matter is now barred, moreover, by lapse of time.
This is the main conclusion of the Banking, Insurance and
Securities Commission's investigation of the Airbus affair. The
report criticises Mr. Moland because he should have disqualified
himself, but there can be no doubt that he is safe from
prosecution. This is the acquittal handed down by the executive
board of the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission, of
which Mr. Moland's fellow party-member and state secretary
colleague, Bjoern Skogstad, is director. The conclusion should
come as a surprise to no one. No Norwegian has ever been
disqualified for reasons of self-interest in connection with
duties as member of a bank's board of directors. No one has even
been investigated before. Mr. Moland is the first.
JOHNSEN RIDES OUT STORM (Verdens Gang)
Finance Minister Sigbjoern Johnsen cannot escape serious criticism
for his record-quick appointment of Torstein Moland as Governor of
Norges Bank. Whether the impact will be severe enough to bring
him down is another story. The Standing Committee on Scrutiny and
the Constitution will commence deliberation of the matter today.
Carl I. Hagen has already announced that he will propose a vote of
no confidence against the Minister of Finance. Labour has
declared its full support for its minister and the central bank
governor. The other parties are probably somewhere in between.
FEDERATION OF TRADE UNIONS AGAINST KJELL OPSETH (Aftenposten)
If the Government follows up on Minister of Transport and
Communications Kjell Opseth's proposal to convert Norwegian
Telecom into a public corporation, it will strain political
relations between the Labour Party and the trade unions, says the
secretariat of the Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions. In its
view, reorganization of Norwegian Telecom as a corporation would
weaken democratic control over infrastructure and other essential
social services. The Federation of Trade Unions considers
Norwegian Telecom an important element of the Norwegian welfare
society, and does not feel the business aspects of its activities
caIall for an organizational change. Instead of conversion,
Norwegian Telecom should be given more freedom through greater
autonomy and less detailed control by the Government and the
Storting, in the view of the Federation.
WORTH NOTING:
- President Richard von Weizsacker of the Federal Republic of
Germany was candid in his address at the banquet welcoming the
Norwegian royal couple to Berlin Monday night. "Though we neither
can nor wish to interfere in Norway's internal affairs, it is our
hope that the Norwegian people will cast its vote for Europe in
its national referendum."
- Minister of the Environment Thorbjoern Berntsen will receive a
reprimand from the ESA, the agency in charge of supervising the
EEA Agreement, on Wednesday. The reason is that Norway has not
incorporated sufficient environmental considerations into its
planning and building legislation to satisfy EU directives.
- Former Governor of Norges Bank Hermod Skaanland has been
appointed to a professorship at the Norwegian School of
Management.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
A royal visit to a unified Germany, such as the one initiated in
Berlin yesterday, is more than a matter of routine protocol. This
is the first time a Norwegian king has chosen Germany as the
destination of his first state visit outside Scandinavia, and it
is the first time the Germans have hosted a visit of this type
from their traditional capital. This visit takes place only a
month after the German Government played an active role on the EU
side of the negotiating table during the final phases of Norway's
negotiations in Brussels. Nor is this the only sign of change in
Europe. Much has happened already. Harald V's visit simply
underscores the fact that Norway and Germany exert a mutual
influence on each other. Norway has long enjoyed close ties with
Britain, and this relationship will continue. The opportunity to
build up close political, economic and cultural ties with Germany
as well gives Norway a privileged position in Europe. The royal
visit is thus a tangible effort to secure Norway's interests at a
time when Europe is still in the process of adjustment after the
close of the post-war era. (Aftenposten)
DATE: 20 April 1994
BRUNDTLAND CAUTIONS EU PARLIAMENT (Verdens Gang)
Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland cautioned the European
Parliament yesterday against throwing sand in the works for Norway
and the other applicant countries. The Prime Minister stated that
it would have an adverse effect on Norwegian public opinion if the
European Parliament fails to ratify an enlargement. A growing
internal power struggle in the EU is threatening to pull the rug
out from under Norway and the other three applicant countries and
their prospects of having the accession treaties ratified by the
European Parliament in two weeks' time. "I realize that it is far
from certain that a majority in the Parliament are in favour of
enlargement. We have made it clear that failure of the
enlargement process now would have very negative repercussions. I
expect that things will work out, though, and that the EU and the
rest of us will keep to the timetable," said the Prime Minister.
PRAISES THE EU AS A TOOL OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
(Arbeiderbladet)
Minister of Industry and Energy Jens Stoltenberg uses
environmental protection as one of his weightiest arguments in
favour of membership. He made this clear during the environmental
debate in the Storting yesterday. Mr. Stoltenberg said that
environmental measures cannot be left to nation states alone.
"All countries are hesitant about levying high environmental taxes
and implement strict environmental standards for fear of putting
their own industries at a disadvantage in competition with other
countries. The environmental effort is inseparable from Europe's
economic policies," he says.
NOK 9 BILLION IN OIL PROFITS OUT OF THE COUNTRY (NTB)
Foreign oil companies operating in Norway took NOK 9 billion out
of the country in 1993 in profits to their parent companies. NOK
2.5 billion consisted of undistributable reserves converted to
profits and sent out of the country. State Secretary Svein Harald
Oeygard of the Ministry of Finance says that this was an
unanticipated consequence of the tax reform, and that the Ministry
will raise taxes on the oil companies in 1994.
OIL EXPLORATION IN THE NORTH (Aftenposten)
After ten years of exploration without results, optimism is
waning. Several oil companies have got rid of the blocks they
were granted in the Barents Sea, pulling out in order to spare
area fees ranging between NOK 40 and 50 million per year. The
Ministry of Industry and Energy will try to reverse this trend by
offering better terms. On 13 June, the Storting will decide
whether the oil companies should be accorded special "Barents
benefits". The Petroleum Directorate hopes the new terms will
boost exploration activity. So far, only twelve exploration
models have been tried out, but the Barents Sea is still
considered one of the most exciting oil prospects in the world.
NO-CONFIDENCE VOTE UNJUSTIFIED (Aftenposten)
Spokesman Dag Jostein Fjaervoll (Chr. Dem.) does not feel there is
sufficient basis for a vote of no confidence against Minister of
Finance Sigbjoern Johnsen over the Moland affair. He confines his
criticism to what he views as undue haste on the part of the
Ministry of Finance and the Government in appointing Mr. Moland.
"The Government had no reason to push this appointment through.
There was no pressure to get it done quickly as long as incumbent
Governor Hermod Skaaneland was to remain in office until the end
of the year. Instead of appointing Mr. Moland only a few days
after the application deadline, and immediately after the
headlines, the Ministry should have taken the time to carry out
the necessary investigations. Its investigations were not
sufficient to clear away the uncertainties. On this basis, the
Government deserves criticism for the way it dealt with the
matter," says Mr. Fjaervoll.
FARM TALKS OFF TO A BAD START (Nationen)
A new agricultural agreement looks to be a long way off at the
moment. Instead, more agricultural bargaining is what seems to be
in the air, judging by the language used at yesterday's encounter.
This means that the Government will be sending its proposal to the
Storting without the farmers' signature. The atmosphere has
seldom been so hostile on the first day of agricultural
negotiations. How deep the disagreement goes will not be apparent
until next Tuesday, when the Government will submit its counter-
demands and the farmers will decide whether to continue
negotiating or not.
WORTH NOTING:
- Norway can and should take precautions against low oil prices,
especially if we become part of a monetary union, says Professor
Erling Steigum of the Norwegian School of Economics and Business
Administration.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
The Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission's report on the
Kreditkassen bank reveals a shocking corporate culture in what
formerly was Norway's largest bank. This harsh verdict against
the Kreditkassen also reflects on the Commission itself. Why was
no action taken against these illegal practices until the bank had
foundered and the government started its investigations? There
are also good reasons to ask whether the dubious goings-on in the
Kreditkassen would ever have been exposed if the press had not dug
up the muck surrounding the entire Airbus escapade. It was only
the appointment of Torstein Moland to the office of Governor of
Norges Bank that set the snowball rolling. And what about the
impartiality of the Commission itself? The Commission is headed
by Bjoern Skogstad Aamo, who, like Mr. Moland, belonged for many
years to the inner circle around Prime Minister Gro Harlem
Brundtland. Now it may well be that Mr. Aamo had no formal self-
interest in the Moland affair, but it would nonetheless have been
best for himself, Mr. Moland and the Banking, Insurance and
Securities Commission if he had disqualified himself from taking
part in the process. (Dagbladet)