ISSN 0804-709X
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THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Press Division, Oslo
NORWAY DAILY NO. 138-142/94
DATE: 21 July 1994
CANNOT TELL ALL (Nationen)
The Ministry of Agriculture's State Secretary Ottar Befring
denies that the Government is putting any wraps on the EU
negotiations. "But we are in a different situation from the
other applicant countries, because our agricultural
organizations aren't participating in the process like theirs
are. That also keeps us from showing all our cards," Befring
says. The Ministry will, he says, publish various results as
the negotiations proceed. But in his view his Ministry's
negotiating position differs from the ones in which his
Swedish, Finnish and Austrian colleagues are operating. "For
Norway's agricultural organizations to be against EU
membership is their business. But the way they are acting is
undermining our negotiations. When Norwegian organizations
state that there is no chance of getting agreement to this or
that in Brussels, it doesn't make the negotiations any easier.
I don't think Norway's farm industry would benefit if we made
all our thinking about the negotiations known," says Befring.
AN EU YES COMPLICATES BUDGET PROCEDURES (Arbeiderbladet)
The Ministry of Finance has not yet decided how to deal with
the extra Fiscal Budget appropriations which will be necessary
if there is a majority vote in favour of EU membership. The
Fiscal Budget is due for presentation in September. According
to Ellen Horneland, political adviser in the Ministry, a yes
vote in the referendum will leave the Ministry two options.
"We can either present a special Report to the Storting, or
include the changes in the Final Budget Proposal closer to
Christmas," Horneland says.
DEFENCE FORCES EXCEED BUDGET BY MILLIONS (Aftenposten)
The defence forces spent NOK 41.5 million more than budgeted
on external consultants last year, according to a surprising
report from Headquarters Defence Command Norway. One reason
for the overrun was that some units had an insufficiently
clear picture of the money spent on consultancy. The report
shows that the defence forces spent over NOK 277.9 million
last year on private consultants - at a time when reductions
of the work force by over 6,000 man/years are at their height.
COAST GUARD BOARDS GREENPEACE VESSEL (NTB)
The Norwegian whaling vessel "Senet" left the Egersund banks
Wednesday evening after the Greenpeace vessel "Solo" disrupted
its activities in the area. The action by the Greenpeace
activists on "Solo" came after their sister-ship "Sirius" had
been boarded and arrested by the Coast Guard that afternoon.
According to the Navy, "Sirius" was boarded after receiving
several warnings from the Coast Guard. The "Senet" crew had
taken one whale on Wednesday morning, and were pursuing
another in the afternoon when reportedly hindered by the
Greenpeace vessel. They managed to catch the second whale,
but the activists on the "Solo" prevented them from making a
third catch on Wednesday.
WORTH NOTING:
- Whale activist Paul Watson has sailed from the Shetlands to
Aberdeen to have "Whales Forever" repaired at a yard there.
- On their way to the disputed fisheries in the "Loophole",
trawlers are taking the opportunity to fish unlawfully in the
fisheries protection zone. The Coast Guard vessel KV "Senja"
is proceeding to the "Loophole" today to keep the nine
trawlers there under observation.
- "It tells us a great deal about the quality control
exercised in the No to the EU movement," is Minister of
Industry Jens Stoltenberg's comment on being labelled an
opponent of membership in the newspaper "Standpunkt".
- The Directorate of Immigration refused three out of ten
applications for visas to Norway in 1993. The Directorate is
seeking to prevent people from entering Norway on tourist
visas in order subsequently to apply for asylum.
- The queues to serve prison sentences have now been
eliminated all over the country. The average age of inmates
has risen from 24 to 30.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
It will hardly have come as any surprise to people who have
lived a while that the Labour Party's most vicious anti-
communist propaganda pamphlets were actually written by
Americans. The close links between Labour headquarters and
the US Embassy were well known. No doubt many people, also
outside the Labour Party, will, taking a historical
perspective, feel that close cooperation with the Americans
was very sensible: in non-socialist circles, this anti-
communist campaign by Labour met with warm approval. The
trouble is that most of it was carried out under false
colours. The Labour Party was named as the publisher and its
secretary Haakon Lie as the editor or author -which was not
true. Today's political debate centres on what is known as
our right to self-rule, which many fear we shall lose in the
EU. The Centre Party showed little concern for our right to
self-rule in the 1950s. (Dagbladet)
DATE: 22 July 1994
THE YES SIDE IS BROKE (Aftenposten)
The EU referendum has been expected to lead to a huge
marketing struggle in the autumn between supporters and
opponents, but the information bombardment will be one-sided.
Whereas No to EU will be spending almost NOK 15 million on
marketing alone up to 28 November, the European Movement is
unable to plan any information drives: it has no funds for
the marketing campaign it will need in the important autumn
run-in. It currently has some NOK 7 million to spend on
waging its campaign, wages, etc., compared to No to EU's 19
million. For the two main organizations in the EU debate,
that is the marketing position in what is generally regarded
as a fight to be won by arguments and by the information
people take in about EU.
COUNTER-REPORT IN AUGUST (Arbeiderbladet)
The report to be issued by the No to EU movement in response
to Report no. 40 to the Storting on membership of the European
Union will be issued on 15 August, a little later than
planned. It will contain a review by opponents of the
consequences for Norway of joining and will not, according to
deputy leader Eva Nordlund of No to EU, be a mere collection
of arguments.
A NO VICTORY MUST RESULT IN NEW POLICIES (Nationen)
The dispute between the government and the farmers'
organizations is growing more heated. They are now
quarrelling over what will happen if the referendum results in
a No. "A Yes or No to the EU will make little difference to
Norwegian farmers," says Minister of Agriculture Gunhild
yangen. "yangen is covering over the facts to sustain the
myth that EU membership will practically be a boon to farming.
A No will force a change in agricultural policy," reply the
farmers' leaders.
SEPARATE PRISON FOR FOREIGNERS (Verdens Gang)
A separate prison for foreigners could solve racial problems
in Norwegian prisons, according to Knut Eigum, governor of
Ullersmo central prison; he does not, however, have in mind
separate prisons for foreign inmates generally, but only for
foreign nationals awaiting deportation from Norway. Neither
the Ministry of Justice nor the Central Prison Administration
wishes to comment on Eigum's suggestion.
RECORD FISH EXPORTS (Aftenposten)
Norwegian fish is selling as never before. Exports so far
this year are 16 per cent higher than at the same time in the
record year 1993. Portugal, France and Denmark remain the
biggest export markets for Norwegian fish, whereas the most
rapid growth has been in exports to Russia, Poland and the
Baltic states.
WORTH NOTING:
- The Greenpeace vessel "Sirius" may be due for a long stay in
a Norwegian port. It has been seized to prevent it from
continuing its violations of Norwegian law.
- The crew of the whaler "Senet" will be suing Greenpeace for
NOK 1.5 million in damages.
- Neither the Coast Guard nor the whalers need expect any
further confrontations with Paul Watson this season. "Whales
Forever" is now in Aberdeen, and will not be able to put to
sea for at least another ten days.
- Embezzlement by Post Office employees amounted to a
staggering NOK 3.5 million last year, nearly twice as much as
the NOK 1.8 million that robbers managed to get away with.
- The number of applicants for asylum reaching Norway has
fallen sharply in recent months. The total last June was 151,
as against 697 last January and 3,812 in September last year.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
The political leadership of the Ministry of Agriculture and
the farmers' organizations are at it hammer and tongs before
the final negotiations between Norway and the EU concerning
the conditions that will apply to Norwegian farming if Norway
becomes a member. The organizations claim - rightly - that
the Ministry is being secretive about Norway's negotiating
positions. And the Ministry replies - rightly - that it has
very good reasons for being less than open. The source of the
trouble is the thoroughly negative attitude taken by the
organizations with regard to contributing advice and
reservations in the negotiating process. With the Ministry
thus prevented from building up any mutual confidence with the
organizations concerning more or less sensitive issues between
Norway and the EU, one can hardly blame it for being cautious
about issuing information on matters which have yet to be
finally settled. From the point of view of our national
interest, it is regrettable that the organizations are
boycotting the attempts by our authorities to achieve the best
possible agreement with the EU. That they are opposed to EU
membership is fair enough. But they cannot disregard the
possibility that the coming referendum will go against them,
in which case the best possible agricultural conditions will
be important to our country. It is strange to see the
organizations refusing to contribute to the best possible
result. (Aftenposten)
DATE: 25 July 1994
NORWEGIAN PLAN FOR REFUGEES (Aftenposten)
The Norwegian authorities have drawn up a contingency plan
designed to enable the country to admit and organise a
large influx of refugees at short notice. The plan will
allow Norway to receive thousands of refugees a week. The
environmental catastrophe in the Kola peninsula in Russia
is cited as an example of a situation which could result
in a stream of refugees heading towards the Norwegian
border. The contingency plan has been drawn up by a
working group drawing representatives from the Ministries
of Justice, Local Government and Defence, in addition to
the Directorates of Civil Defence and Immigration.
NORWEGIAN DEFENCE TO SPEND NOK 60 - 70 BILLION (Dagens Naeringsliv)
The Norwegian military will be spending NOK 60-70bn over
the next 10 years. If the long-term plan for the military
is implemented, most of this sum will go to procurement of
new fighter planes and frigates. "We have to modernise in
order to put into place the defence structure ordered by
the Storting. If we don't succeed, we will have to see
what projects can be postponed", says State Secretary
Sigve Brekke at the Ministry of Defence.
HIGHER RETIREMENT AGE? (Dagbladet/Sunday/Aftenposten)
Military, police, railway and highway administration
employees face the possibility of a higher retirement age.
The Ministry of Government Administration is due to carry
out a review of civil service retirement ages which vary
widely at present. The question of a higher retirement age
for the civil service has previously aroused vehement
reactions. Many have warned against higher unemployment;
but at the same time a low retirement age leads to heavy
extra outlays for the Treasury. Changes, if any, will not
affect civil servants with less than 10 years to retirement.
NO DESIRE FOR WRANGLING IN PRO-EU CAMP (Arbeiderbladet/Saturday)
Mr. Jan Petersen, Conservative Party leader, rejects
criticism of party passivity in the EU campaign. "Our
plans are running to schedule. Nothing would be less
useful in the run-up to the referendum than a debate among
supporters of EU membership. That is why I take exception
to the PM's statement that the government has not
benefited from the Conservative Party's pro-EU stance.
FINES AWAIT GREENPEACE ACTIVISTS (Aftenposten)
Four Greenpeace activists were brought in by Sandnes
police after their ship, the "Solo", was towed ashore by
the Coast Guard vessel "Lafjord". The police intend to
impound the "Solo" as they previously impounded the
"Sirius". The police want to detain both vessels for the
duration of whaling operations. Two Greenpeace activists
are likely to be charged with assault on a public officer
after a member of the Coast Guard fell in the sea in
connection with the seizure of the "Solo".
WORTH NOTING:
- The Greenpeace activists who on Friday chained
themselves to a wall they erected in front of the entrance
to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs are each being fined
NOK 2,500 for their part in the illegal demonstration.
- Minister of Finance Sigbjrn Johnsen is top of the EU
class. Norway now has the lowest inflation rate of the 16
countries that will make up the EU if all four applicant
countries join.
TODAY'S COMMENT
This year's whaling season is drawing to an end. Anti-
whaling actions and provocations have been more forceful
this year than last, while the international response
seems to have been somewhat weaker. However, it is too
early to say definitely whether or not the negative
attention that usually follows in the wake of the whaling
season will materialise. Although the 29 whaling ships
that have taken part in this year's operations have almost
finished their work, international interest in Norwegian
commercial whaling could reach new heights in the period
ahead. The two Greenpeace boats "Solo" and "Sirius" have
been escorted to Egersund by the Norwegian Coast Guard;
new law provisions enabled the Coast Guard to deal with
the obstacles deployed by the Greenpeace ships against the
whalers in the North Sea. The period ahead will show what
leverage Greenpeace has when it comes to influencing
international opinion in the whaling issue. The clashes
during this year's whaling have given the organisation
material which it will be use in new attempts to stop
Norwegian whaling operations. It is hardly wise to
underestimate the propaganda machinery available to
Greenpeace. Although the actions against Norwegian whaling
ships have prompted most Norwegians to take a negative
view of activists who try to stop whalers acting in
accordance with the Norwegian authorities, it could be
difficult to defend whaling if Greenpeace succeeds in
mobilising the international community against us.
DATE: 26 July 1994
NEW MAP FROM EU CREATED PROBLEMS (Aftenposten)
Agreement has not yet been reached on what sections of Norway
south of 62 degrees N are to come under the EU scheme for support
for so-called northern agriculture. ''We were presented with a new
map that needed fairly extensive scrutiny. The map met our wishes
on several important points, but I didn't consider it would pay to
accept a proposal that we hadn't studied in detail. My main
concern is to achieve a good arrangement for Norwegian
agriculture. This means taking all the time we need'', said
Agriculture Minister Gunhild Eoyangen yesterday evening in
Brussels after talks with Mr. Rene Steichen, EU's agriculture
negotiator. Ms. Eoyangen stressed several times the importance of
arriving at a solution which the Government can defend in the
run-up to the referendum on Norwegian EU membership. ''I would
like to have presented the map this evening, but we have to
consider what is good for Norwegian agriculture, and we have time
in our hands'', she said. Norway has previously made known its
wish to include certain municipalities in western Norway which do
not fulfil the formal requirements previously agreed by Norway and
the Commission.
EU MAP PURE COSMETICS (NTB)
''The current discussions on the EU map for support for Norwegian
agriculture are pure cosmetics after the major defeat suffered by
the Norwegian government at the EU negotiations last winter.
Norway has already lost its struggle for the food industry and
agriculture. The government relinquished the most important basis
for the existence of agriculture and the food industry when it
agreed to remove import protection thereby entailing EU prices
from the first day of membership and a five-year traditional
period'', said Mr. Amund Venger, Secretary-General of the
Norwegian Farmers' Union.
NSB (NORWEGIAN STATE RAILWAYS) LOSE RADIOACTIVE MATERIAL
(Aftenposten)
A consignment of radioactive material from the Institute for
Energy Technology disappeared without trace after being sent as a
parcel by train from Lillestroem to Drammen on 27 June last. The
radioactive material was thallium 201 in an amount corresponding
to a thousand million becquerels. The authorities were not alerted
of thallium's disappearance. Since thallium has a half-life of 70
hours, it was primarily a health hazard in the first few days
after it disappeared.
VERBAL WHALING DUEL ON THE ''SOLO'' (Aftenposten)
The feared confrontation between supporters of whaling and
Greenpeace failed to materialise in the port of Egersund
yesterday. ''It's no use trying to start a dialogue with
Greenpeace, and I hadn't expected to either. We are
satisfied because we succeeded in revealing some of the
untruths bandied about by Greenpeace'', says Mr. Georg
Blichfeldt of the High North Alliance after a meeting with
Greenpeace campaign leader, Mr. Paul Horsman. Mr. Horsman was at a
loss for an answer several times during the hourlong verbal duel.
PLO AND ISRAEL DISCUSS WATER IN OSLO (NTB)
In the past few days delegations from Jordan, the PLO and Israel
discussed Middle-East water resources in Oslo. The meeting is part
of the multilateral side of the Madrid Conference. The meeting in
Oslo is not secret: the parties have simply not wished to
publicise it. Discussions have centred on developing institutions
to administer water resources and information has been exchanged.
WORTH NOTING:
- Two Norwegian transport planes, on loan from the Norwegian
military and jam-packed with medical equipment from the Red Cross,
arrived yesterday at the Zaire border town of Goma.
- Military officers' organisations are annoyed by the plans for
possibly raising the retirement age. The Ministry of Defence is in
favour.
- Former prime minister Per Borten (Centre Party) confirms that he
was aware of the existence of lists of persons who would be
interned in case of war.
- So far this year foreign investors have reduced their deposits
in Norwegian banks by NOK 1,550 million.
TODAY'S COMMENT
A survey carried out by the Directorate of Public Management and
the Norwegian School of Management points out that central
government stands to save almost NOK 671 million by improving
purchasing routines by 1 per cent.
The state accounts for 10 per cent of all purchases in Mainland
Norway. Only a few months ago it was pointed out that counties and
municipalities could save very considerable amounts by improving
procurement routines.
Like central government, the general government sector misses out
on major savings thanks to the absence of a well-planned and
considered procurement strategy. For example, the above survey
reveals that one government trading undertaking purchased one and
the same product from 5,000 suppliers, that a public corporation
purchased the same product from 20 suppliers, and that another
medium-size public corporation used 20 suppliers for standard
products. More than anything else these examples reflect an urgent
need for a thorough clean-up of a system which virtually invites
wastage. (Aftenposten)
DATE: 27 July 1994
FARM SUPPORT SYSTEM AGREED (Dagens Naeringsliv)
52.7 per cent of farmland in Norway comes under the designation
northern agriculture. Yesterday Minister of Agriculture, Ms.
Gunhild Oeyangen, agreed with EU Agriculture Commissioner, Mr.
Rene Steichen, on which areas should receive farm support. The
level of support will be fixed in subsequent talks. Ms. Aina
Edelmann of the Norwegian Farmers' and Smallholders' Union
believes the outcome could have been poorer. ''But the rules for
and the level of support still have to be clarified'', she
says. ''The map which Ms. Oeyangen and Mr. Steichen agreed is
based on criteria of population density, ratio of farmland to the
total area of the municipality in question, and the proportion of
land used for grain production''.
- A TEAR, NOT A DROP (NTB)
Centre Party leader Ms. Anne Enger Lahnstein believes it is a good
thing for the continuing EU debate that Norway and the EU have
reached agreement on the support system for Norwegian agriculture.
But she believes that the fact that Norway has had to negotiate
support arrangements that the country itself will be funding
illustrates a loss of Norwegian freedom of action. Ms. Lahnstein
calls the ''drop'' in question a ''teardrop''. The Centre Party
leader regrets that the government kept secret the details of
Norway's demands with regard to the ''drop'' (the areas south of
62 degrees N to come under EU support arrangements for northern
farming). ''This makes it difficult to see what Norway has
achieved at the negotiations'', she says.
RETIREMENT INCENTIVES IN INTELLIGENCE SERVICE (NTB/NRK)
The Norwegian Defence's intelligence service has offered a number
of employees about NOK 1 million to retire from the service.
Headquarters Defence Command Norway confirms that intelligence
service staff who are willing to retire will remain on full pay
for up to three years while undergoing education or retraining.
Acting press spokesman at Defence Command, Mr. Stig Morten
Karlsen, will not be drawn on the cost of the scheme. The
Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK) believes the bill could
be NOK 50 to 100 million.
SAGA INVESTS IN LIBYA DESPITE UN BOYCOTT (NTB/Bergens Tidende)
The Norwegian listed oil company, Saga Petroleum, is to invest
almost NOK 0.25 billion in a Libyan oil-field - despite the UN
trade boycott against the country's dictator, Mohammar Al-Gaddafi.
Saga has received the go-ahead for the investment from the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Mr. Arne Halvorsen, in charge of
information at Saga Petroleum, confirms that the company has
pledged to undertake major investments in Libya. The UN Security
Council tightened its trade boycott last November: among other
items it covers equipment used for refining, transport and
production of crude oil. Rather than intervene, the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs has given the go-ahead for this major investment
since the wording of the Security Council's resolution has no
direct legal impact on the company's operation.
WORTH NOTING:
- A report on the activities of Carnegie, the securities house, by
the Banking, Insurance and Securities Commission reveals several
offences whereby good customers received, for example, securities
on credit.
- After several lean years trade and commerce have recovered the
profitability they enjoyed in the golden years of the early 1980s.
In the current year, each krone invested in this sector will yield
an average return of 11 per cent, says the report ''Handelen 1994''.
- Four activists from the Greenpeace ship Solo were each fined NOK
20,000 on Tuesday. They refuse to accept the fines.
TODAY'S COMMENT
The map showing the area of Norway qualifying for farm support
covers 52.7 per cent of total farmland in Norway and 85-90 per
cent of total Norway's land area. When she presented the map
yesterday, Minister of Agriculture, Ms. Oeyangen, attempted to
reassure farmers in areas falling outside the support arrangement
by saying that Norway has been given permission by the EU to grant
graduated support to areas adjacent to those areas that are
guaranteed permanent support at the current level. There is no
reason to believe that the farming lobby will rest content with
the farm support system that now seems to have been
established for Norway as a member of the EU. Headed by
the farming organisations, farmers' resistance to
Norwegian EU membership is massive. But both supporters and
opponents of Norwegian membership should agree that the existence
of a finalised agreement is an advantage. It means that the debate
on the EU can be conducted on a concrete and tangible basis.
Moreover, the provisions governing support in the collective
agreement for the farm sector open the way for the use of a broad
range of instruments. If efforts to achieve better collaboration
between the farming organisations and the political authorities
than we have seen so far in the EU process prove successful, there
should be a good chance of arriving at arrangements that ensure
reasonably good incomes in the agricultural sector. Indeed the
Government has assumed a commitment in this respect by affirming
that income potential will not be poorer than already planned
by the Storting. (Aftenposten)