ISSN 0804-709X
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THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS Press Division, Oslo
NORWAY DAILY NO. 200-204/94 OeW/KJ
DATE: 17 October 1994
ELATION IN NORWAY OVER FINNISH ASSENT (Aftenposten)
''Finland has made a historic choice. The European Union has
gained a new Nordic member, and this will change the EU,'' said
a highly pleased Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland last
night. She felt the Finns, in voting for membership, had put a
premium on security, stability and cooperation, and she was
glad the EU would now be expanding towards the north. ''The
Finnish referendum will have some short-term significance in
Norway, but the real impact on the Norwegian referendum will
not be evident until it can be viewed in perspective,'' said
Centre chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein. She emphasized that this
outcome in the Finnish referendum was generally anticipated.
She also said that she had expected a rougher and a much more
even contest in the run-up to the Finnish EU referendum. ''We
will have to mobilize heavily among opponents of EU membership
if we are to win. No one must take victory for granted or
believe we can win unless everyone does one's best,'' says Anne
Enger Lahnstein.
YEAS GAINING (Aftenposten-Saturday edition)
Forty-six per cent will vote YES if Finland and Sweden become
members of the EU and forty-one per cent will vote NO,
according to a recent poll. When compared with the September
showing, the latest survey on the EU issue reveals a
surprising amount of voter movement. Forty-seven per cent said
NO in September and thirty-nine per cent said they would vote
YES on EU membership if Sweden and Finland joined the EU.
There is considerable movement even when this condition is not
included in the survey question. In September there was a
difference of 22 percentage points between the NAYS (50 per
cent) and the YEAS (28 per cent), but the NAY lead has been
reduced to 10 percentage points: 45 per cent say NO, 35 per
cent say YES and 20 per cent are still undecided.
EU COMMISSIONER AGAINST PIRATE FISHING IN ARCTIC (Aftenposten-
Saturday edition)
''It makes me angry. This must be stopped. I promise that the
EU will do what's possible to help Norway,'' said EU
Commissioner for Fisheries and the Environment Ioannis
Paleokrassas after a trip to the ''Loophole''. He emphasized
that resource issues always receive top priority in the EU,
and that the EU will protest overfishing vehemently, even the
protest is directed at an EU member state.
LAHNSTEIN WOULD RAISE TAXES (Dagbladet-Saturday edition)
Led by chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein, the Centre Party
executive committee is putting the last touches on its
alternative budget. Altogether, they would redirect ''well
over'' NOK 10 billion of the Government's proposed budget. The
Centre Party would reduce the budget deficit by two or three
billion kroner compared with the Government's budget. The
package includes a 0.7 per cent tax increase on gross income,
an additional one billion kroner to the health sector, a
higher standard tax allowance, a small increase in child
benefits and no increase in homeowner taxation.
CONSERVATIVES UP, LABOUR DOWN IN OCTOBER (Aftenposten)
The Conservative Party gained most and Labour lost most in
Opinion's party barometer for October. Labour support is at 35
per cent, a 3.2 per cent drop, support for the Centre Party is
18.8 per cent, down 0.9 per cent and Conservatives backing is
at 18.2 per cent, a 2.5 per cent gain. Only negligible changes
were registered in support for other parties.
A BLOW TO THE PRESTIGE OF THE NOBEL PEACE PRIZE (Nationen-
Saturday edition)
''From the moment Yasser Arafat's name was first mentioned in
the Nobel Committee, I made it clear that I could not accept
the choice,'' said Kaare Kristiansen on Friday when he
explained why he was withdrawing from the Nobel Committee.
''Awarding the prize to Mr. Arafat, in my view, depreciates the
prize. This decision erodes respect for the Nobel Peace
Prize,'' said Mr. Kristiansen.
WORTH NOTING:
- Exports of Norwegian fish have reached record levels this
year. EU countries are buying Norwegian fish products like
never before, and exports to Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe
are growing apace.
- Allocations from defence funds for Norwegian detachments in
UN forces around the world will pass NOK 1 billion this year.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
The Finnish people voted an explicit YES on Finnish membership
of the EU yesterday - 57 per cent YES and 43 per cent NO. By a
twist of fate, Finland, neutralized by generations of being
squeezed between East and West, suddenly finds itself playing
a new role, that of pathfinder and vanguard leading Sweden and
Norway into the new Europe. The consequences of what is now
going on in our neighbouring countries have not yet been
grasped by political commentators and EU contestants here in
Norway: our own domestic EU debate is not just entering a new
phase, it has also, in reality, been transformed into an
entirely new issue. Norwegian voters will no longer be asked
to reply to hypothetical questions as to what they will do if
Finland and Sweden vote YES - they will now be asked how they
will vote when Finland and Sweden have said YES. This should
prompt a small landslide in Norway, not just off the fence to
the YES side, but from NO side to the YES side. (Arbeiderbladet)
DATE: 18 October 1994
FINNISH MARGIN NOT ENOUGH FOR CENTRE (Dagbladet)
If 57 per cent vote for membership of the EU in Norway's
referendum - as they did in Finland - a majority of the Centre
Party representatives in the Storting would still not accept
the result. This is Dagbladet's conclusion after interviewing
several leading Centre representatives, including party
chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein. "This vote reveals that Finland
is split, in the broadest sense of the word, and this has put
the country in an extremely difficult situation," says Anne
Enger Lahnstein. The Socialist Left representatives, however,
would accept this majority. "Our view is that if a majority of
the people are in favour of EU membership, and a majority of
the counties also favour membership, then we will vote for
membership, even though we wouldn't be happy about it," says
Socialist Left chairman Erik Solheim.
FINNISH VOTE FAILS TO BOOST NORWEGIAN EU DRIVE (Aftenposten)
Contrary to most forecasts, the latest survey shows that the
clear Finnish majority for EU membership has not induced more
Norwegian voters to take a positive view of Norwegian
membership of the EU. A survey conducted by Opinion for
Aftenposten yesterday revealed stronger opposition to
membership than the last EU survey before the Finns went to
the polls. Support for EU membership has dropped 4 percentage
points to 31 per cent, opposition has gained 6 percentage
points, to 51 per cent, and 18 per cent say they are still
undecided - a decrease of 2 percentage points.
STILL GOOD FRIENDS (Arbeiderbladet)
On his first visit of state since taking office, Swedish Prime
Minister Ingvar Carlsson arrived in Norway yesterday for
political talks with Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem
Brundtland. He gave his assurances that in the event that
Sweden joins the EU and Norway does not, Swedish-Norwegian
cooperation will still continue. "However, it would be best
for Norway, Scandinavia and Europe if Norway joined, too,"
said Mr. Carlsson. Neither of the two prime ministers would
speculate on the situation that could arise if either of the
two countries chooses not to join the EU. Both hope to
continue their traditional cooperation inside the EU. Ms.
Brundtland emphasized that if all the Nordic countries were
members of the EU - hopefully with Iceland, too, eventually -
Scandinavia would become a strong factor within the EU. "Among
other things, the EU presidency would be held by a Nordic
country every fourth year. This would provide plenty of scope
for substantial influence," said Ms. Brundtland.
NORDIC ROOM IN HOUSE OF EUROPE (NTB)
Foreign Minister Bjoern Tore Godal introduced a new element
into the EU debate in his address to the Oslo Military Society
Monday night. He pointed out that Finnish membership of the EU
is a reality we must acknowledge because it comprises the
first step on the road to a new Scandinavia and a new era of
Nordic cooperation. "There are plenty of indications that
Sweden will follow the example of the Finns. With Denmark,
Finland and Sweden inside the European Union, over 80 per cent
of the Scandinavian people would be cooperating within the EU.
Nordic cooperation is no longer an alternative to membership
of the EU. On the contrary, Scandinavia and Nordic cooperation
are in the process of becoming part of the EU framework. What
we are seeing is the outline of a Nordic chamber in the House
of Europe taking form," said Mr. Godal.
CONSERVATIVES PROPOSE NOK 15 BILLION IN CUTBACKS (Dagens Naeringsliv)
The Conservative Party's budget proposal would cut taxes by
nearly NOK 7 billion. The most important items, as compared
with the Government's draft budget, are higher personal
exemptions, a higher surtax kick-in point and a 1 per cent
lower marginal tax, and lower homeowner taxation. The
Conservatives would make unusually heavy budget cuts. Net
reductions in expenditures amount to nearly NOK 15.5 billion.
In its fiscal budget proposal, the Conservative party
acknowledges the exceptional nature of this year's fiscal
budget in that changes will be necessary no matter which way
Norway votes in the referendum.
CHR.DEMOCRATS WILL FIGHT FOR IDEALS (Dagens Naeringsliv)
The Christian Democratic Party will require acceptance of some
of its priority issues, most notably cash allowances to
families with children, and improvements for married
pensioners, before it will be able to support the Government's
fiscal budget. Party chairman Kjell Magne Bondevik made this
clear when the Christian Democrats presented their budget
alternative yesterday. This budget would involve a NOK 4.7
billion increase in expenditures, but the party points out
that taken together with the proposals on the revenue side,
their overall budget is a NOK 1.4 billion improvement over the
Government's proposal.
FISCAL BUDGET DRAMATICS NOW OVER (Aftenposten)
After the Conservatives and the Christian Democrats presented
their fiscal budget alternatives yesterday, the Labour sponsor
of the Government's budget proposal takes a more optimistic
view of the outlook for avoiding crisis and interest rate
turbulence this autumn. The deadline for the finance
recommendation is Friday morning, but experience indicates
that the parties will probably spend the weekend getting all
the pieces into place.
WORTH NOTING:
- NOK 250 million more may be allocated to defence than
proposed by the Government. All of the non-socialist parties,
who together form a majority, are in favour of increasing the
defence budget.
- Fresh statistics reveal that more Norwegians disapprove of
smuggled as well as illicitly distilled spirits.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
Martti Ahtisaari, Finland's president, will arrive in Norway
today on an official visit, coming right after the Finnish
people have voted to join the European Union. The visit is
sure to be coloured by the EU issue and by the outcome of
Finland's referendum vote. President Ahtisaari is a warm
supporter of European integration, and Finland would like
Sweden and Norway accompany it into the European Union. It is
hard to predict the impact of Finland's acceptance of
membership on the Norwegian EU debate. The fact that Finland
exercised its newly gained foreign policy freedom to enter
into the Union should not be lost on Norwegian voters, as well
as the fact that Norway will share a border with the EU in
Troms and Finnmark. Finland's membership vote has changed the
political map of Europe. Unfortunately, Norwegian resistance
to EU membership is not easily swayed by realities. (Verdens Gang)
DATE: 19 October 1994
AHTISAARI WOULD LIKE NORWAY TO JOIN (Arbeiderbladet)
"Each of the Nordic countries must decide for itself what is
right, and political experiences from one country cannot
always be applied to another," said Finnish President Martti
Ahtisaari when he met the press on the first day of his state
visit to Norway. He declined to speculate on any possible
"Finnish effect" in Norway resulting from Finland's decision
to join the European Union. However, he left no doubt that he
would very much like to see both Sweden and Norway join the EU
together with Finland, "for purely egoistic reasons. To a
large extent, the Nordic countries have concurring views on
the affairs concerning our own societies and on world
affairs," said the President.
MEMBERSHIP WILL MAKE NO DIFFERENCE (Dagens Naeringsliv)
With regard to the economy, it will make little difference
whether Norway joins the EU or not. Norway's natural resources
put the country in a unique position, and remaining outside
the Union would have no significant negative consequences.
This is the view of leading European finance experts. One of
them, Nick Stevenson of SG Warburg, an investment bank, says
that Norway and Switzerland are the only two countries that
could manage just as well outside the EU. He does not believe
the EU will take economic measures against Norway if we choose
not to join. If individual Norwegian enterprises establish a
presence in EU countries, the EEA Agreement should be good
enough, in his view.
NORWAY'S TREATY BEST (Dagens Naeringsliv)
In Finland, 57 per cent voted for membership of the EU last
Sunday while in Norway, the majority still oppose membership.
Yet Norway has secured a better treaty of accession than both
Finland and Sweden. This is the prevailing view in Norway.
Norway has negotiated special arrangements in central areas
such as fish, farming and energy. "Each country has negotiated
on the basis of its own circumstances and laid its strategy
accordingly. This makes it difficult to make comparisons
between treaties," said Minister of Trade and Shipping Grete Knudsen.
SOME WELFARE CUTS ACCEPTABLE, BUT NOT ALL (Aftenposten)
Most Norwegians are willing to accept certain cuts in public
welfare programmes, according to a survey conducted by Opinion
for the Federation of Norwegian Professional Associations.
When questioned how they would cut government expenditures if
they were in the position of finance minister, the
respondents' first choice would be to link child benefits to
financial need. Care for the elderly rates high in general
concern. Approximately two per cent would consider reductions
in care for the elderly, and approximately eight per cent
would consider reducing old-age pensions. This means that well
over 90 per cent of the respondents in this survey would
maintain care for the elderly at current levels or better.
ICELANDERS MAY RECEIVE QUOTAS IN LOOPHOLE (Dagbladet)
Norwegian negotiators are confident that the UN Conference on
Highly Migratory and Straddling Fish Stocks will solve the
problems in the Loophole. Norwegian and Icelandic negotiators
have been discussing their Loophole differences, though quotas
have not yet been mentioned. Everyone is looking to the UN
conference to clarify fishing rights outside the 200 mile
limits of the coastal states. "A draft treaty is still only in
the outline stage, but Iceland will receive only highly
limited quotas, regardless," says one of the central Norwegian
negotiators to Dagbladet.
WORTH NOTING:
- The Centre Party would like to give more to the health
sector and proposes NOK 1 billion in solidarity funding in its
alternative fiscal budget. The party is against a general
raise in the tax assessment value of real property. The party
would raise VAT and curb private spending, but would not
tamper with the sick pay scheme.
- The Socialist Left budget proposal would allocate NOK 13
billion differently in comparison with the Government's budget
proposal. The Socialist Left proposal is based on Norwegian
rejection of EU membership.
- "Those who are against the EU are going backwards into the
future," says Minister of Trade and Shipping Grete Knudsen,
who feels Norway should renegotiate the EEA Agreement quickly
if membership is rejected in the referendum.
- The Conservative Party feels Finland's ratification of EU
membership brings the security policy issue into the Norwegian
EU membership debate.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
The opposition parties in the Storting have now presented
their alternatives to the Government's fiscal policy for the
coming year. The parties have such widely diverging goals that
the Storting is likely to produce a fiscal budget with a
substantially greater deficit than the Government's original
proposal. This could be the paradoxical outcome, despite the
fact that all political parties have made substantial efforts
this time to avoid any increase in the deficit. The diversity
of aims could delay a final fiscal budget decision until after
the EU referendum. Reaching agreement would certainly be
easier afterwards - regardless of the outcome of the
referendum. (Aftenposten)
DATE: 20 October 1994
TERRORIST ARRESTED IN OSLO - GERMANY REQUESTS EXTRADITION (NTB)
Soraya Ansari, who was involved in the hijack of a German
Lufthansa airliner 17 years ago, was arrested in her home in
Oslo last Thursday. Interpol sent a request for Ms. Ansari's
arrest and extradition to the Norwegian police on behalf of
the German police. She has been living in Norway for three
years with her husband and children. According to Crime Unit
chief Ellen Holager Andenaes, Ms. Ansari has acknowledged that
she is the woman who took part in the hijack. Ms. Ansari was
sentenced to 20 years in prison in Somalia in 1978, but for
reasons of poor health, she was released a year later and
deported. Acting head of the National Police Security Service
Per Gammelgaard says that Ms. Ansari came to Norway from
Cyprus in 1991 at the same time that a number of people of
Arabic background arrived in Norway as a result of the Gulf
war. According to the police, she has done nothing criminal
here in Norway.
PLO REPRESENTATIVE KNEW HIJACKER (Aftenposten)
"I have known of the 41-year old woman's past as a hijacker
for a long time. I assumed the Norwegian authorities were also
aware of it," says the PLO's representative in Norway, Omar
Kitmitto, who is a personal acquaintance of her. "I have never
discussed her past or her hijacking conviction in Mogadishu
with her or her family. My information is based on sources in
the PLO's own intelligence service in Tunis. After it became
known that Mossad agents had come to Norway to interrogate PLO
defectors, there was much the PLO wanted to know. That was how
our intelligence people learned of her background, and I heard
it in the corridors. Because she arrived from Cyprus, I
assumed the Norwegian police were informed," says Mr.
Kitmitto. Chief of the Oslo crime unit Ellen Holager Andenaes
categorically denies the PLO representative's statement that
the Norwegian authorities were probably aware of the woman's
past. "She would have been detained immediately. She has been
in the international Wanted register since the beginning of
the 1980s," says Ms. Andenaes. Her statement is backed up by
Per Gammelgaard, acting head of the National Police Security Service.
CONSERVATIVES WANT NORWEGIAN UN CONTINGENT OUT OF LEBANON
(Aftenposten)
The Conservative Party proposes withdrawing the Norwegian UN
detachment from Lebanon, and would prefer to spend an
additional NOK 1.1 billion on defence here in Norway. "With
our defence against invasion weakened, we feel it's time to
bring our UN troops home," says Conservative defence policy
spokesman Ingvald Godal. The proposal to withdraw the UN
battalion from Lebanon will be submitted in conjunction with
the Conservative Party's alternative defence budget. "We
support the Defence Commission's defence goals. To achieve
these goals, we propose allocating an additional NOK 1.1
billion," says Mr. Godal.
ADDITIONAL RAILWAY DEFICIT (NTB/Norwegian Broadcasting Company)
The Norwegian State Railway (NSB) is worse off than it was
previously thought, by NOK 200 million, according to a memo
from Minister of Transport and Communications Kjell Opseth to
the Storting's Standing Committee on Transport and
Communications. The NSB had originally calculated a NOK 200
million surplus in its 1994 budget, but this subsequently
plummeted to a NOK 200 million projected shortfall. An
additional NOK 200 million must now be entered on the NSB's
minus side. Because of this discrepancy, Mr. Opseth would like
to adjust the NSB budget to bring the figures into balance.
WORTH NOTING:
- At the beginning of 1994, there were 211,200 immigrants
residing in Norway, or 4.9 per cent of the population. Fifteen
per cent of Oslo's inhabitants are immigrants.
- The EU portfolios going to Nordic countries have been
assigned. The Nordics will probably be put in charge of fish,
environmental, rural and social issues in the new European Commission.
- Statoil and Saga Petroleum will collaborate on a NOK 40
billion development of the three gas fields owned by these two
operators on the Halten Bank. They signed a letter of intent yesterday.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
Opponents to EU membership are outraged by Prime Minister Gro
Harlem Brundtland's apparent inability to see a single reason
why Norway should not join the EU. During a round of replies
following her speech in the debate on the Speech from the
Throne, the PM was challenged to identify any negative aspects
of Norwegian membership of the EU. What her opponents did not
ask, however, was whether she saw anything negative in the EU
as such. What the PM was asked - and what she therefore
answered - was whether she could not see any arguments at all
against Norwegian membership of the EU. After thinking for a
moment, she said no. The debate on Norwegian EU membership
could have taken a different turn entirely if the contestants
had been able to distinguish between the two concepts. We find
it easy to understand that Ms. Brundtland has a hard time
finding arguments against membership of the EU, even though
she may have other thoughts about things that are going on in
the EU. We presume the PM, like us, sees weaknesses in EU
treaties and policies that she is eager to take up with her
potential counterparts in the EU. Why in the world, however,
should she spend time and effort criticizing a club she is not
a member of when she can join the club and do something about it?
DATE: 21 October 1994
NO MISTAKES ADMITTED BY AUTHORITIES (Aftenposten)
No government authorities will admit that any rules or
guidelines were violated when Souhaila Sami Andrawes, a
fugitive hijacker, was granted a residence permit in 1991.
"The rules and the guidelines were followed as far as we can
see. The outcome of her application for asylum could not have
been otherwise, given the information we had," says Assistant
Director General Terje Sjeggestad at the Directorate of
Immigration (UDI). Representatives of the National Police
Security Service, the Oslo Police Department, the Ministry of
Justice and the UDI met yesterday to ascertain whether the
applicable procedures were complied with in the processing of
the female hijacker's application for a residence permit.
Their conclusion was that no one had committed any errors when
she was granted a residence permit in 1991 on humanitarian grounds.
NORWEGIAN INTELLIGENCE SERVICES MUST HAVE KNOWN (Arbeiderbladet)
"The Norwegian intelligence services must have known about
Soraya Ansari. If they didn't, Norway should dismantle its
whole intelligence bureau and save the money. All the major
intelligence bureaus keep track of most of the known
terrorists, and I would be greatly surprised if the Norwegian
intelligence services did not know all along, too. I cannot
believe that the German intelligence services suddenly
stumbled over the woman, at any rate," says British author and
journalist Davis Yallop.
OTHER TERRORISTS LIKELY IN NORWAY (Arbeiderbladet)
"It would not surprise me if there were several former
terrorists among the political refugees in Norway, and there
are probably others in addition to Suhaila Sayeh. I believe
most of them no longer have any connection with terrorism,
however, and therefore pose no security threat here in
Norway," says Tore Bjoergo, terrorism specialist at the
Norwegian Institute of International Affairs. "It could be a
problem if any of them are active terrorists residing here
while awaiting orders to be carried out in Norway or in other
countries."
CONSERVATIVE UNIFIL PROPOSAL REJECTED (Aftenposten)
The Conservative Party's suggestion to withdraw the Norwegian
UNIFIL contingent in Lebanon received little response in the
Storting. Only the Progress Party supports the proposal. State
Secretary Jan Egeland at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
referring to the Middle East peace process, says the timing of
this Conservative proposal could not have been worse. Mr.
Egeland agrees that the UNIFIL involvement has been much too
costly for Norway and other contributing countries, both in
terms of funding and in terms of loss of life. "Nor is there
any doubt that NORBATT's mandate is unsatisfactory, as Ingvald
Godal (Cons.) has pointed out," says Mr. Egeland.
GAS-FIRED POWER PLANT TO SUPPLY EXPORT MARKET (Dagens Naeringsliv)
The entire output of Norway's first gas-fired power plant will
be exported. According to Director Auke Lont of Naturkraft,
the possibility of selling power from a Norwegian gas-fired
power plant to Norwegian industry has never been discussed.
Norsk Hydro, one of Naturkraft's three owners, has signalled
that it would like some of this power for modernization and
expansion of its own aluminium industry.
GAS CONTRACTS SENT ABROAD (NTB)
The engineering divisions of Kvaerner, Aker and Haugesunds
Mekaniske have lost all but one of the contracts involved in
the construction of the giant gas plant at Kollsnes, near
Bergen. The contracts have gone to foreign competitors.
Contracts for a total of NOK 12 billion have been signed. The
Norwegian engineering firms have landed just one contract,
valued at NOK 11 million, less than one per cent of the total.
WORTH NOTING:
- Heavy oil escaping from the "Bluecher" threatened to blacken
the shores of the Droebak Sound Thursday night.
- The Norwegian Maritime Directorate is considering separate
ferries for dangerous goods on night and day sailings.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
The discovery that a former terrorist has been living in
Norway for three years raises a number of serious questions.
The first, quite naturally, is how is it possible for the
National Police Security Services to be unaware that Souhaila
Sami Andrawes was residing in Norway, when it was known to the
PLO representative here and parts of the Palestinian exile
community? The other question, of course, concerns the fate of
the Palestinian woman now sitting in detention. The immediate
reaction of many is that extradition to Germany should be a
fairly straightforward affair. However, the circumstances are
not so cut-and-dried. The woman was convicted in Somalia and
sentenced to 20 years in prison - a stiff sentence, most would
say. Then, after two years, she was pardoned. Her extradition
could mean prosecution and conviction twice for the same
offence, an issue with serious legal implications involving
the rights of convicted persons. We beg to point out that
Norway once pardoned several Israeli agents who were convicted
in the Lillehammer murder case. On humanitarian grounds, none
of them were held in Norwegian prisons any longer than the
time the Palestinian woman has already served in Somalia.
(Arbeiderbladet)