ISSN 0804-709X
www.norwaves.com
ATTN: PRESSE- OG KULTURKONTORET
THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Press Division, Oslo
NORWAY DAILY NO. 76-80/94 ARS/KJ
DATE: 21 April 1994
KNUDSEN: EU TREATY GOOD FOR NORWAY (NTB)
Minister of Trade and Shipping Grete Knudsen emphasized that
Norway will be in trouble if it does not join the EU when she
reported to the Storting on the results of the accession
negotiations Wednesday. The Conservatives felt her EU statement
confirmed that Norway had achieved good terms through the
negotiations. The other parties criticized Ms. Knudsen for making
the results out to be better than they are. Within a few years,
the EU may encompass most of the countries of Western Europe. At
the same time, several countries in Central and Eastern Europe
have indicated their interest in joining the Union as soon as
possible. The Minister of Trade and Shipping stressed that it
would be a drastic step for Norway to remain outside. Ms. Knudsen
also pointed out that a completely new situation will arise in
Scandinavia if Sweden and Finland join the Union. Therefore,
Nordic cooperation, EFTA and the EEA do not constitute an
alternative to membership of the EU because the nature of this
cooperation structure will change, becoming substantially weaker.
"This is the reality of the situation, and we have to face it,"
she said. Ms. Knudsen said that Norway has achieved acceptance
for its most important requests as well as recognition that
membership must allow room to accommodate special Norwegian needs.
"This is a treaty that is good for Norway," she said. She
observed that the Norwegian-Swedish border would be a rather
strange place to draw the EU's external border. According to the
Minister of Trade and Shipping, the treaty secures Norwegian
rights to its fishery resources, assurance that Norwegian
management policies in northern waters will be maintained, and
duty-free access to the EU market for Norwegian fish and fish
products. Ms. Knudsen also felt that EU membership would mean
additional measures to strengthen Norwegian rural policy. Norway
would be eligible for substantial contributions from the EU
regional and structural fund, and according to EU legislation, the
Norwegian authorities will be required follow suit with
corresponding payments from the national treasury in a large
number of areas.
"Wednesday's statement by the Minister of Trade and Shipping was a
real glorification. Ms. Knudsen topped the Prime Minister, who at
least recognized mackerel quotas as a weak spot in the EU treaty.
But even this is supposed to be good for Norway now," says Centre
Party chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein. "It's astonishing that the
Government doesn't have the courage to acknowledge the
deficiencies in Norway's treaty with the EU. A more balanced
presentation would have been more credible," says Kjell Magne
Bondevik (Chr. Dem.). Mr. Bondevik called the presentation a good
but one-sided defence of a bad EU treaty. This view is echoed by
Socialist Left chairman Erik Solheim. "Ms. Knudsen's EU report
confirms that the membership negotiations have turned out well for
Norway," says Conservative Party chairman Jan Petersen. He
believes that many will find the result better on a number of
points than they had expected, and hopes that people will be
willing to take a fresh look at the results.
NORWAY - "AN ENERGY SUPERPOWER" (Aftenposten)
King Harald emerged as head of state of a "superpower" at the
Norwegian-German energy seminar in Dusseldorf yesterday. Norway
is Germany's major supplier of oil, surpassing Russia and the UK,
and Norway's share of the German gas market will probably double
from today's 15 per cent to 30 per cent in 2005. "I feel certain
that relations between our two countries in the energy sector will
continue to evolve, and that this, too, will have positive
repercussions for the environment," said King Harald. The
environment was also an important point for Norwegian Minister of
Industry and Energy Jens Stoltenberg. Gas from the North Sea
could reduce German dependence on hard and soft coal. Norway,
too, will reap the benefits of these improvements. Acid rain
could be reduced, and with it, the detrimental effect on fish
stocks. One of the least diplomatic among the speakers at this
seminar was the German Minister of Economics, Guenter Rexrodt, who
reckoned that Norway will eventually see the light on EU
membership. "As one of Western Europe's major actors in the
energy policy arena, Norway has an important role to play in the
European Union," said Mr. Rexrodt.
OLD SOLDIERS FIGHT NATIONAL INSURANCE ADMINISTRATION (Dagbladet)
Old soldiers in northern Norway feel the Norwegian state has left
them out, so they are now taking court action to be conceded war
pensions. "We fought for our country's freedom, but now we have
to fight in court to win recognition. This does not do our nation
credit," says Einar Fjelldahl (81) of Oeksfjord in Finnmark, who
has fought for the rights of war veterans for years. The National
Insurance Administration has refused veterans of the Alta
Battalion's applications for war pensions.
WORTH NOTING:
- Delegation leaders from the Progress Party national convention
will meet with the rebellious Storting representatives this coming
Saturday. Progress Party dissenters in the Storting are now
calling for a truce.
- The Norwegian defence forces have contracted with Haegglunds in
Sweden to supply around 100 light tanks in an order worth NOK 2.5
billion. The order will also secure several hundred jobs in
Norway.
- Tumbling market prices and rising interest rates in the bond
market continued unabated yesterday. Chief Economist Steinar Juel
of the Kreditkassen bank is apprehensive that this mini-crash will
strangle the budding optimism in the Norwegian economy, and he is
particularly worried that housing construction will suffer.
- The Norwegian Research Council proposes that all government
research institutes should be converted to corporations or
foundations. The Research Council feels the state-operated
institutes receive more than their fair share of government
funding.
- Soccer: Norway-Portugal 0-0 (private match)
TODAY'S COMMENT:
Whether the majority of the Norwegian people agree with Minister
of Trade and Shipping Grete Knudsen that the time has come to
"face reality", remains to be seen. What is certain, though, is
that all the cards are now down. We know what we will be voting
on in the coming referendum, provided the European Parliament
doesn't overturn the whole process. If we go to the polls after
Sweden and Finland have taken their stand, we will also be able to
take the actions of our Nordic neighbours into account. There is
no doubt that Nordic cooperation will face a new situation if they
join the European Union and we stay out. (Aftenposten)
DATE: 22 April 1994
ADVISES AGAINST STORING RADIOACTIVE WASTE IN HIMLADALEN VALLEY (NTB)
The Norwegian Geotechnical Institute feels the authorities have
given inaccurate information on the storage facility for
radioactive waste being planned in the Himladalen valley in
eastern Akershus county. The Institute does not think this
facility meets international standards for the storage of
radioactive waste. The municipality of Aurskog-Hoeland is now
stepping up its efforts against the storage facility since the
criticism of the Geotechnical Institute was made public. State
Secretary Myrvang of the Ministry of Industry and Energy denies
that the Storting was misinformed on the hazards of the facility.
The Norwegian Radiation Protection Authority has advised the
Ministry that the facility is up to grade. Mr. Myrvang realizes
that there are divergent views as to the safety of this facility
in various professional circles, but he points out that these
differences of opinion are known to the Storting. The
Geotechnical Institute voices its criticism in a letter to the
OECD Nuclear Energy Agency. The Agency sent a letter back to
Norway asking the Institute for Energy Technology, which is in
charge of the nuclear reactors in Halden and at Kjeller, to advise
them on the matter.
VOTE OF NO-CONFIDENCE AGAINST JOHNSEN (Dagens Naeringsliv)
Minister of Finance Sigbjoern Johnsen can expect the Conservatives
to call a vote of no-confidence when the Moland affair is brought
up in the plenary Storting. Petter Thomassen (Cons.), chairman of
the Standing Committee on Scrutiny and the Constitution, says that
the Conservative party group is formulating a call for a vote of
no-confidence against the Finance Minister. Mr. Thomassen denies
that the Conservatives are using the threat of a no-confidence
vote merely as a warning shot. "We are particularly critical of
the Government's haste in effecting this appointment, from the
time the opening was announced on 30 July last year until Mr.
Moland received the appointment on 6 August. There was no visible
reason to push an appointment through so quickly, as the incumbent
Governor of Norges Bank, Hermod Skaanland, was not leaving office
until the end of the year. The press had turned the spotlight on
Mr. Moland's involvement in the Airbus project the day before the
appointment. This was a very irresponsible move," says Mr.
Thomassen.
ICELAND DEMANDS SAY ON HERRING (NTB)
Iceland demands to negotiate with Norway on quotas and
responsibility for managing Norwegian spring-spawned herring,
according to the Icelandic Fisheries Minister, Thorsteinn Palsson.
Iceland feels it is important to regulate the herring fisheries in
the area between Norway and Iceland. Norway refuses to discuss
herring stocks with Iceland at the present time.
ANNIE, GET YOUR GUN (Verdens Gang)
"Norway has quietly given the EU a great deal of control over
Norwegian security policy, whether or not we join the EU. This
has already happened, and Anne Enger Lahnstein did not lift a
finger," says State Secretary Sigve Brekke of the Ministry of
Defence to Verdens Gang, as he wonders where the protests of the
opponents of EU membership are. Mr. Brekke is asking to come
under the fire of Lahnstein & Co., since Norway consented at the
latest NATO summit in January to let the Western European Union
coordinate the policies of the European NATO countries. "We feel
this is a political development in the right direction, with
Europe taking greater charge of its own security policy. This is
why we want to join the EU. Membership of NATO alone is not
enough. The opponents of EU membership were caught napping on
this issue, unless they simply haven't grasped what it is all
about. This indicates that the anti-accessionists haven't really
got any real security policy alternative to offer," says Mr.
Brekke.
PENGUIN MISSILE ACTIVATED ON THE GROUND (Dagbladet)
A Penguin missile for an F-16 jet fighter was accidentally
activated while the missile was gn the ground at the Rygge air
base in Oestfold county yesterday. The missile released toxic
gasses, and 100 persons were evacuated from the area. "To the
best of my knowledge, someone turned the wrong switch," says Col.
Erik Ianke of Headquarters Defence Command Norway. He knows of no
previous incidents of this sort.
WORTH NOTING:
- An exhausted Boerge Ousland may reach the North Pole this
evening. If he succeeds, he will be the first person to reach the
world's northernmost point alone and unassisted. Yesterday
afternoon, he had only 38 km to go.
- Around 240 unemployed Norwegians have applied for unemployment
payments this year while seeking work in other EEA countries.
Most of the applications were sent from Spain, England and
Denmark.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
On 6 June this year, it will be 50 years since D-Day. The
anniversary will be observed by a large gathering of veterans,
politicians and reporters on the French shore of the Channel.
Norway will also be represented, as Norwegian fighter planes and
transport ships also took part in the greatest beachhead invasion
in world history, in which 150,000 soldiers were landed in 24
hours. Two highly sensitive issues have been subject to debate,
however. One is whether this bloody day in June is really
something to celebrate. The other is whether it wouldn't be
appropriate for those who comprised the Allied forces at the time
to accommodate the cautious German request to be permitted to send
representatives to Normandy. For the precise reason that the
answer to the first question is No, there is good reason to
consider replying in the affirmative to the second. Thanks to the
British press in particular, there is general recognition of the
impropriety of any semblance of festivity or celebration of a day
that cost the lives of thousands of Allied soldiers. Five
thousand British, nine thousand US, three thousand Canadian and
twelve thousand German soldiers lie buried along the Normandy
coast. This is not a "celebration" - it is a memorial. This is a
tragic, but important event in our history, which marks the
beginning of the freedom and democracy of the post-war era which
also emerged victorious from of the Cold War. (Verdens Gang)
DATE: 25 April 1994
WHALING OPPONENTS RECONSIDER (Aftenposten)
Commercial whaling may be resumed within two years, according to
sources in London, where influential countries in the
International Whaling Commission (IWC) have reached agreement in
the course of informal discussions. The US has reportedly taken
the initiative in this change of course, which may lead to a
resumption of whaling quotas. According to the Sunday Observer,
this preliminary agreement wall probably be adopted when the IWC
holds its annual meeting in Mexico from 23 to 27 May. "If the
information reported in the Observer is correct, it coincides with
the messages we have been receiving," says Norway's Commissioner
of Whaling, Karsten Klepsvik. Mr. Klepsvik says that Norway is
prepared to accept extensive controls in order to offer the world
community assurance that Norwegian whaling operations are
conducted in a sound and responsible manner. Foreign Ministry
press spokesman Ingvard Havnen says that Norway has noted
increased understanding for its whaling policy. "We are
realistic, though. We're taking nothing for granted," he says.
The reason for the renewed effort to find a solution to the
whaling controversy is reportedly based on fears of a schism in
the IWC if some concessions are not offered to Norway and Japan.
GAS PIPELINE DISPUTE (Arbeiderbladet)
Norway and British authorities are engaged in a touchy dispute
with the UK, the outcome of which will directly affect the income
from billions of kroner worth of North Sea gas. The problem
involves disagreement as to the future use of the gas pipeline
from the Frigg field. Minister of Industry and Energy Jens
Stoltenberg wants to continue using this pipeline after the Frigg
reserves have been exhausted. His British counterpart says No.
The British take the view that the Frigg pipeline should be shut
down the moment extraction from the Frigg field ceases around
1997. "We are negotiating with the British, but we have not yet
reached agreement," says Mr. Stoltenberg. Norway could lose
annual sales to the UK worth NOK 8 to 10 billion if the British
block use of the Norwegian gas pipeline from the Frigg field to
Scotland.
NEW RULES AT WORK (Arbeiderbladet/Dagens Naeringsliv - Saturday
edition)
Three years' maternity leave, better protection against redundancy
if an employer wants to contract an employee's job out, stricter
laws against sexual harassment - these are the most important
proposals presented on Friday by Minister of Local Government and
Labour Gunnar Berge in his bill of amendments to the Working
Environment Act. "The Government has given in completely to the
Norwegian Federation of Trade Unions. As a result, employers are
denied the simplification and flexibility they need," says
Executive Vice President Lars Christian Berge of the Confederation
of Norwegian Business and Industry.
MEN SUPPORT ACCESSION TO THE EU (Verdens Gang)
For the first time since EU membership became an issue, Norwegian
men in favour of EU membership have taken the lead. Thirty-nine
per cent said Yes, 37 per cent said No and 23 per cent of the men
were undecided. Women, however, are still staunch opponents of EU
membership. Forty-nine per cent say No, 25 per cent say Yes and
27 per cent don't know. These are the main conclusions of Scan
Fact's latest EU survey for Verdens Gang. Thirty-two per cent
support membership, 43 per cent oppose membership, while 25 per
cent are undecided. The survey reveals that the Yea's are gaining
most at the moment. The response in favour of EU membership has
gone up or held its own in every poll taken since October, when
only 23 per cent favoured membership of the EU.
WORTH NOTING:
- "Norway will have just this one chance to join the EU. After
the present round of enlargement, the EU will concentrate all of
its efforts on integrating the new Eastern European states," says
Denmark's former minister of foreign affairs, Uffe Ellemann
Jensen.
- The basic military training of Norwegian UN soldiers is
inadequate. The Defence Establishment will now take steps to give
them more training before sending them out on UN missions.
- Boerge Ousland reached 90 degrees north latitude on Friday
evening, and was able to set up his tent at the North Pole. He is
the first person to make it to the North Pole alone and
unassisted.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
We are quite sure the Government has nothing against efficient and
profitable enterprises, although sometimes it looks that way.
Minister of Local Government and Labour Gunnar Berge presented a
proposal on amendments to the Working Environment Act on Friday.
While the rest of the country, not to mention the rest of the
world, agrees that we need greater flexibility in the job market,
Mr. Berge chooses to go in the opposite direction. He wants to
make it even harder for enterprises to adapt to changing
conditions in a sensible way. Mr. Berge may be doing this out of
pure ignorance, with no ill will intended, though we find this
hard to believe. The Ministry targets four areas in particular in
which it suggests improvements: 1) protection against employee
replacement by people contracted from outside; 2) extended child-
care leave for parents of small children; 3) greater protection
against harassment; 4) stronger preferential claim to new
employment in the same enterprise for employees laid off due to
lack of work. It doesn't even come close to mentioning the need
for greater flexibility. (Dagens Naeringsliv)
DATE: 26 April 1994
NOK 3 BILLION BALANCING ACT (Arbeiderbladet)
The Government will propose tightening up the fiscal budget by
nearly NOK 3 billion. Around one third of this will take the form
of higher taxes and two-thirds will be through reductions in state
expenditures. Specific proposals will be presented in the Revised
Fiscal Budget on 6 May. According to Arbeiderbladet's sources,
the Government will not ask the Storting for a tighter austerity
package at this time, as it had been contemplating. The
Government will content itself with an ordinary budget revision
aimed to balance the budget. The Ministry of Finance's analysis
reveals a budget shortfall of over NOK 2 billion because the price
of oil is lower than the prognosis on which the Fiscal Budget was
based at the end of 1993. The Government will propose shoring
this up by raising net wealth taxes and environmental taxes.
CHANGE IN AMERICAN WHALING VIEWS DOUBTED (Aftenposten)
There are no indications that the US Government has changed its
mind on the whaling issue, according to a source that has kept in
close touch with developments in Washington. Nonetheless, there
are hopes that the controversy over commercial whaling will not
turn into a major conflict. The reality of the matter is that
Congress is nearly unanimous in its opposition to commercial
whaling, and this is a fact that President Bill Clinton and his
administration must take into account. The report in the British
Sunday Observer that the US had taken the initiative in opening
for commercial whaling was therefore met with scepticism by
observers in Washington.
SCIENTIFIC WHALING TO START NEXT WEEK (NTB)
Norwegian scientific whaling will start next week, two and one-
half weeks later than last year. 127 minke whales will be taken
this year in the area between the Lofoten Islands and Bear Island,
and to the east of Svalbard. Russia has refused a Norwegian
request to take whales off the Kola Peninsula. Four boats will
take part in the research. This is the third and last year Norway
will conduct whaling activities for scientific purposes. The
purpose of the research is to find out how much whales eat, when
they eat and what kinds of fish they eat.
DANGER OF EXTREME BLOOM OF TOXIC ALGAE IN THE SKAGERRAK (Aftenposten)
Not since the "algae year" of 1988 has the likelihood of an
extreme bloom of toxic algae been greater. The last time this
occurred, the effects were disastrous: very high fish mortality
along the coast and panicked moving of fish farming installations.
The Institute of Marine Research in Bergen has observed a
substantial inflow of polluted water from the southern part of the
North Sea for the past couple of months. The large amount of
precipitation falling on the continent this winter has led to an
unusually high volume of fresh water, which carries a great deal
of pollution. Scientists cannot say with any certainty what will
happen, however.
UN CRITICISES NORWEGIAN GOVERNMENT'S CHURCH ASYLUM POLICY (Vaart Land)
The UN Expert Committee on Children's Rights criticizes the
Norwegian Government's policy regarding the treatment of refugees
in church asylum. The Committee makes it clear that children in
church asylum are entitled to all rights. The Committee commends
Norway for much of the work being done to make the Convention on
the Rights of the Child a reality in Norway. This doesn't help
much when the Committee also remarks on the Government's treatment
of children in church asylum. The criticism is aimed at the
Government's view that children have no legal right to schooling.
WORTH NOTING:
- Thanks to a favourable dollar exchange rate, better prices for a
number of products and a higher rate of oil production, Norsk
Hydro has had a good start to this year. First quarter profits
were NOK 877 million after taxes, NOK 371 million more than in the
same period last year.
TODAY'S COMMENT
The war of nerves has already started in the runup to this year's
annual meeting of the International Whaling Commission (IWC),
which will open in less than a month. While the British Sunday
Observer reports that influential countries in the IWC, led by the
US and Great Britain, have prepared a draft agreement which would
permit reinstatement of whaling quotas, other sources in
Washington say there is no indication that the US Government has
changed its position on the whaling issue. Public opinion in the
US and a number of EU countries is strongly opposed to whaling,
and chances are slim for any agreement in the IWC that would
permit a resumption of commercial whaling. However, the US
appears to be on its way to acceptance of the principle of
scientific management of whale resources. Although agreement on
whaling quotas is still remote, the shift in the American stand is
an admission that there is a scientific basis for taking whales in
certain parts of the ocean. This may justifiably be interpreted
as a decisive breakthrough for the views Norway has propounded
since the Norwegian Government gave the go-ahead for taking 300
minke whales. (Aftenposten)
DATE: 27 April 1994
HEATED EU DEBATE IN THE STORTING (Arbeiderbladet/Aftenposten)
It was like a floodgate that broke. Yesterday's debate in the
Storting between supporters and opponents of EU membership was
heated, to say the least. Labour Party chairman Thorbjoern
Jagland opened the debate by trying to envisage a Europe without
close economic cooperation, which is the goal of the Centre and
the Socialist Left. Mr. Jagland did not conceal the fact that
part of his intent in joining the EU was to influence Europe in a
more social democratic direction. Hallvard Bakke, leader of the
Labour opponents of EU membership, was also concerned about social
democracy, but he came to the opposite conclusion. He strongly
doubted whether it was possible to pursue social democratic
policies in the EU, pointing out that not even all of the European
social democratic parties share the goals expressed in Labour's
party programme. Centre Party chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein
pulled the Yugoslavia conflict into the Norwegian EU debate.
"Yugoslavia was an artificial union. It is unwise to build up an
artificial union without popular support," she said, promptly
drawing fire from the entire pro-membership side. Per-Kristian
Foss (Cons.) was appalled that the Centre chairman made no mention
whatsoever of security policy in her address. "And the comparison
to Yugoslavia is a gross distortion," he said. Socialist Left
chairman Erik Solheim said that membership of the EU would require
reductions in the public budgets, weakening the welfare state.
"We would like to see pan-European cooperation, but the way to
accomplish this goal is not through the EU," said Mr. Solheim.
The Prime Minister will deliver her address on the EU in the
Storting today.
BRITISH WANT NORWAY IN (Aftenposten)
British Foreign Secretary Douglas Hurd believes that both
Conservative and Labour representatives in the European Parliament
will do their part to prevent obstruction of the enlargement
process in the EU. Norwegian Foreign Minister Bjoern Tore Godal
reported this after yesterday's meeting with his British
counterpart. "The British would like to see Norway join the EU,
and Mr. Hurd feels the Nordic countries have an important role to
play in the overall European perspective," said Mr. Godal.
NORWAY ALONE IN SCANDINAVIA ON WHALING (Aftenposten)
Sweden, Denmark and Finland are wavering, but Norway cannot count
on Nordic support on the commercial whaling issue this year
either. This seems clear after the gathering of representatives
of the Nordic countries in Illiassat on the west coast of
Greenland yesterday. According to Norway's Commissioner of
Whaling, Karsten Klepsvik, representatives of all three of
Norway's neighbouring countries have stated that in principle,
they accept Norway's long-standing insistence that whaling should
be regulated on the basis of scientific fact, not feelings.
HIMDALEN PLANS UNDER INTERNATIONAL REVIEW (NTB)
The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has asked to
evaluate the Norwegian plans for a radioactive waste storage
facility in Himdalen in Akershus county. The request was prompted
by a letter from the Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (NGI), a
copy of which was sent to the IAEA. In its letter, the NGI
discussed a number of what it considered to be deficiencies in the
plans for the storage facility. The IAEA feels an international
review of the plans would be to everyone's benefit because of the
controversy surrounding the facility.
COMBAT DUTY PROPOSAL (Aftenposten)
Norwegian officers and other ranks may be ordered to regular
combat duty abroad if a certain bill is submitted and passes the
Storting. Press spokesman Erik Senstad of the Ministry of Defence
says that the Ministry would like political feedback from the
Storting before drafting the final text of the bill. The bill
will be "discussed" in a report to the Storting on the use of
Norwegian military forces abroad, which will be submitted to the
Storting in May.
WORTH NOTING:
- Statoil has discovered a small deposit of oil, gas and
condensate south of the Veslefrikk field in the Oseberg area.
- When the Government submitted its offer in this year's
agricultural tariff negotiations, its message was crystal clear:
NOK 1.8 billion less to the farm sector than last year.
- Part of the frame to the stolen Munch painting, "The Scream",
was found at a desolate bus stop in Nittedal.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
Yesterday's EU debate in the Storting was the opening round of a
long and hard five-month battle which will culminate in the
referendum on Norwegian membership of the EU at the end of
November. If yesterday's skirmish may be taken as an indication
of the level of debate we may expect, we have every reason to fear
the worst. We will quickly end up in a political free-for-all.
With all due respect for the thoroughness displayed by Centre
chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein in her bitter opposition to EU
membership, her performance yesterday was the worst we have seen
in the EU debate so far. Her allusion to the war in the former
Yugoslavia as an example of how a "union" can end up was simply an
unadulterated scare tactic. Yet advocates of membership were not
much better in yesterday's encounter. They take it for granted
that people understand why Norway should join the Union, so their
argumentation is superficial, one-sided and sanguine. There is
not much chance that this presentation of the EU issues will
convince many doubters. Norway, together with the rest of the
Nordic countries, has come to a historic crossroad. It is a
sobering thought that at this momentous juncture, we are so
lacking in perspectives that we merely hold up caricatures of each
other's viewpoints. This is a rather poor contribution to the
tremendous challenges all Europe will have to confront in the
years ahead. (Verdens Gang)