ISSN 0804-709X
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THE ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Oslo
Press Division
NORWAY DAILY No. 221225/97 OeW/kj
DATE: 17 November 1997
TAXES ARE NEXT HURDLE (Dagsavisen)
The Government coalition has reached a budget compromise with
the Progress Party which includes cash benefits to families
with infant children as well as a NOK 1,000 raise in the
minimum monthly pension. These measures will be partly funded
by tax hikes and the Government Petroleum Fund. The Government
will have to secure the support of the Conservatives in order
to get them through the Storting, however. The Conservatives
are willing to continue negotiating with the Government, but
first they demand to see how the Government will pay for these
measures.
BUDGET CLIMAX APPROACHING (Dagbladet)
A pessimistic Per-Kristian Foss (Cons.) left the Storting at
12:30 am last night without having achieved a budget
compromise between the Government, the Progress Party and the
Conservatives. The Conservative and Progress parties are now
battling it out, both trying to avoid being left holding the
baby as the budget ordeal in the Storting approaches its
climax. "The Conservative Party will never accept a compromise
in which the overall burden of taxes is a good billion kroner
to the left of Mr. Jagland's proposal. That is precisely where
the centrist-Progress compromise puts us," says Mr. Foss. If
the Government/Progress constellation cannot reach agreement
with the Conservatives by the end of today, the Government is
headed straight for chaos.
BONDEVIK OPEN FOR ADJUSTMENTS (NTB-Saturday)
Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik is willing to discuss
budgetary adjustments with the Conservatives and the Progress
Party. He feels the entire Storting also shares the
responsibility for the national budget and that it should
demonstrate its ability to tackle the new budget system.
157 COMPLAINTS AGAINST NORWAY (Aftenposten)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has sent plain warnings to
Finance Minister Gudmund Restad, Minister of Social Affairs
Magnhild Meltveit Kleppa and Minister of Local Government and
Labour Eldbjoerg Loewer, whose ministries have fallen behind
on their obligations under the EEA Agreement. The EFTA
Surveillance Authority (ESA) is running out of patience with
Norway on a number of different issues. The ESA has received
157 complaints so far against Norway for violations of the EEA
Agrement.
NO CHANGES IN OIL POLICY (Dagens Naeringsliv)
Labour takes the Bondevik Government's reply to its inquiry
concerning the rate of oil production as an indication that
the Government does not intend to make any changes in
Norwegian oil policy. The main purpose of Labour's questioning
was to clarify whether the reductions and delays in the rate
of investment in the petroleum sector as described in the
Government's budget amendment were simply adjustments in
estimates, or whether they were the outcome of changes in oil
policy.
OVER 6,600 WAITING FOR NATIONAL INSURANCE PAYMENTS
(Dagsavisen-Sunday edition)
Over 6,600 persons have been waiting longer than the National
Insurance Administration's own time limit for handling
applications for benefits. The number of time overruns was
reduced by 1,000 from August to October this year, but despite
an overall reduction in processing times for the country as a
whole, there are still major differences from one county to
another.
WORTH NOTING
- "This is very good news. It proves that discussing human
rights with the Chinese authorities is productive, and that a
common international stand helps," says Minister of Foreign
Affairs Knut Vollebaek, commenting on the release of China's
most well-known dissident, Wei Jingsheing. (NTB)
- Of 1219 EU directives that apply to Norway, 96.7 per cent
have been partially or completely fulfilled. In the EU, only
Denmark and the Netherlands are as responsive as Norway.
(Aftenposten)
- The extra cost of completing the Romeriksporten tunnel will
reach a maximum of NOK 500 million, an amount which the
Norwegian State Railway's Gardermoen division will have to
request from the Storting. Transport and Communications
committee chairman Oddvar Nilsen (Cons.) says this allocation
will have to be given as a loan. (Dagbladet)
- Temperance organizations and several wine importers have
joined forces in combating drunkenness among young people. In
a joint letter to the Storting's Finance Committee, they call
for a hefty tax hike on beer and "designer drinks" coupled
with a drop in prices for fortified wines. Adoption of this
proposal would add NOK 150 million to government revenues.
(Vaart Land-Saturday edition)
- Kjell Magne Bondevik has made an extremely good impression.
After four weeks as Prime Minister, 80 per cent of the
electorate feel he is doing a good job. (Verdens Gang-Saturday
edition)
- A baby boy born on Sunday morning became Oslo's 500,000th
inhabitant. (Vaart Land)
TODAY'S COMMENT
When the Centre Party took part in Kaare Willoch's and Jan P.
Syse's coalition governments, it threatened to withdraw from
both coalitions if the Prime Minister started discussing
politics with Carl I. Hagen. This weekend, a Centre finance
minister negotiated with the Progress Party to secure its
support for the national budget. Just imagine the triumph and
vindication that Carl I. Hagen must be feeling, not to mention
the mortification of the Centre Party. It is a shame that the
Bondevik Government has taken this step to the right. To the
best of our knowledge, only a single important issue - cash
benefits for families with infant children - stood in the way
of a collaboration with Labour. Now that that issue has been
settled, relations with Norway's two socialist parties, Labour
and the Socialist Left, should return to normal. But who
knows? Maybe things will be different next autumn if the
Bondevik Government lasts that long. (Dagsavisen)
DATE: 18 November 1997
BUDGET VICTORY FOR BONDEVIK (Dagsavisen)
The Bondevik Government passed its first trial of strength
with aplomb. With the reluctant support of the Conservatives,
cash benefits to families with infants and a NOK 12,000 annual
increase in minimum pensions are now assured. "Things turned
out as I had hoped, and much better than I had feared," said
Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik yesterday after the
Conservative Party announced its support for the Government's
modified budget. What the Conservatives have achieved through
the budget compromise is to avert a social security tax hike
and to limit the number of taxpayers who will have to pay a
surtax on high incomes. Though the Conservatives saved the
Government from being toppled, they themselves came out
losers.
BUDGET POLICY TIME BOMB (Aftenposten)
"Cash benefits and a higher minimum pension are explosive
elements in the Government's budget policy. They won't look
like much to start with in 1998, but in 1999 and 2000 they
will represent additional expenditures approaching NOK 10
billion annually. So there is majority support for a
substantial drain on the national finances. This is definitely
a time bomb under the Government's budget policy," says Hill-
Marta Solberg (Lab.).
READY TO GO (Verdens Gang)
"I believe people will have no problem understanding that it
would have been difficult, if not impossible, for the current
Government to simply keep operating on the basis of the former
Government's budget. Fortunately, we no longer have that
hanging over us. I was fairly certain we would avoid the
problem, but I am glad we have now done it," says Prime
Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik.
PROGRESS AND CONSERVATIVES TAKING IT OUT ON EACH OTHER
(Verdens Gang)
Progress Party chairman Carl I. Hagen has given the
Conservatives a severe dressing-down, aiming his remarks
particularly at Per-Kristian Foss. He criticizes the
Conservative Party and its finance policy spokesman for
treating the Progress Party with scorn, arrogance and
condescension. "Mr. Hagen has mixed up his media-oriented
criticism of myself with general criticism of the Conservative
Party. I have no compulsion to do the same," says Mr. Foss in
comment to Mr. Hagen's fusillade.
EEA MAY SLAP EXTRA NOK 400 MILLION PAYROLL TAX ON RURAL
EMPLOYERS (Klassekampen)
Knut Almestad, head of the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA),
aims to eliminate the existing scheme of differentiated
payroll taxes applied to a number of industries in Norway. He
will embark on an extensive study of the matter tomorrow, and
if he is successful, shipyards, mines and telecommunications
enterprises in Norway's rural districts will have to pay the
same rates as employers in Norway's central and urban
districts - an extra expense amounting to NOK 400 million.
WORTH NOTING
- Emerging from yesterday's successful budget negotiations,
Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said that with limited tax
increases and lower inflation, he was counting on moderate
wage settlements in this year's labour negotiations. He also
indicated that an excessive increase in private spending would
necessitate further austerity measures. (Aftenposten)
- The budget compromise represents a tactical victory for the
Government coalition, in the view of Centre parliamentary
leader Johan J. Jakobsen. (Dagsavisen)
- The centrist parties are certain to forgive the Bondevik
Government for accepting Carl I. Hagen as its first budget
ally in the Storting. However, it is an enormous comedown for
politicians in the political centre, to whom the prospect of
an alliance with the Progress Party has always been viewed
with repugnance. (Nationen)
- The volume of December shopping this year is expected to
reach the formidable sum of NOK 28 billion, breaking all
previous Christmas shopping records. Cellular phones, cordless
phones and electronic blood pressure monitors are the big hits
this year. (Dagbladet)
- Relative to its population, no other country in the world
adopts as many children from foreign countries as Norway.
(Dagsavisen)
- A record volume of fish exports in October helped set a new
overall export record. Recent figures from Statistics Norway
show that exports of traditional (non-petroleum/natural gas)
goods have passed NOK 16 billion, a 9.2 per cent increase over
last year. (Aftenposten)
TODAY'S COMMENT
Kjell Magne Bondevik passed his initiation with flying
colours. Without adding significantly to the deficit, he has
managed to gather majority support for his two priority issues
- cash benefits for families with infant children, and a raise
in the minimum pension. The drawback with both of these
measures, from the point of view of the budget, is that each
will have twice the impact in 1999 as it did in 1998. Finance
Minister Gudmund Restad has another year to prepare for this,
however. To their credit, the Conservatives insisted on real
cuts elsewhere to prevent further imbalances. The budget that
is now ready to be put to the vote is approximately NOK 1.7
billion weaker than the budget submitted by the Jagland
Government. To be sure, this is a step in the wrong direction,
but hardly one that will send major tremors through the
finance markets. Mr. Bondevik's Government may now count on
some time to work in peace. No one knows how long Progress
Party chairman Carl I. Hagen will hold his protective hand
over Mr. Bondevik, but there are plenty of indications that he
is quite satisfied with the current political situation. It is
not likely that Jan Petersen (Cons.) is equally pleased.
(Dagens Naeringsliv)
DATE: 19 November 1997
"WE MUST HAVE A GOVERNMENT!" (Aftenposten)
In 1985, Centre Party chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein refused to
read a letter from Carl I. Hagen. In 1989 she refused to meet
him. In this year's election campaign, one of her major
concerns was that Norway has more than enough Conservative
policies already. "We carried on what I viewed as substantive
negotiations with the Labour Party, but when the cash benefits
issue came up, Labour said absolutely not, on the principle of
the issue. What choice did we have? The country has to have a
government!" said Ms. Lahnstein.
CENTRIST POLITICIANS HAPPY (Nationen)
Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik and Finance Minister
Gudmund Restad are pleased that the main outlines of the
Government's budget proposal will be approved by the Storting.
"The changes, which involve around NOK 3.5 billion compared
with our original proposal, are something we can live with,"
says Mr. Bondevik. Mr. Restad observes that most people will
not be subject to tax hikes, and increases in indirect taxes
will be lower than anticipated, so he feels that the
groundwork has been laid for moderate wage settlements this
year.
NHO CRITICAL OF BUDGET COMPROMISE (Dagens Naeringsliv)
The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO)
believes the budget compromise will make it difficult to
negotiate moderate wage settlements. Tor Steig, senior
economist for the NHO, says that for small and medium-sized
enterprises, the budget is a disappointment. The Norwegian
Confederation of Trade Unions (LO) has not yet discussed the
budget, but senior economist Stein Reegaard takes a critical
view of the long-term effects of the budget.
BRUNDTLAND AND WILLOCH FIGHT IT OUT AGAIN (Dagsavisen)
Gro Harlem Brundtland and Kaare Willoch, both former prime
ministers from the Labour and Conservative parties
respectively, locked horns in a hot dispute over who was
unprincipled. Statements they had written about each other in
their memoirs formed the starting point for yesterday's
televised debate. They both differed as much as ever, and
hurled hard-hitting allegations at each other. "He thinks he
can pass judgement between divergent views and prove that he
is always right," said Ms. Brundtland. Mr. Willoch replied
that it was not proper to say that political adversaries have
acted immorally.
NEW OIL FIELDS MAY BE DELAYED (Aftenposten)
Minister of Petroleum and Energy Marit Arnstad announced in
Stavanger yesterday that the Government will consider a queue
system for developing new oil fields as a means that may be
used to maintain the rate of oil production below current
levels. Ms. Arnstad said the Government would evaluate the
tempo at which new fields located by themselves are approved
for development. Fields located close to existing
infrastructure, and small fields which are satellites to
larger fields will still be approved for development.
WOMEN GAINING ON MEN (Dagsavisen)
From 1980 to the present, women's paychecks have grown faster
than men's. The increase in women's pay is 27 per cent higher
than the increase in men's pay. Men still earn more than
women, but the gap has been reduced from 19 to 12 per cent,
according to figures from Statistics Norway.
WORTH NOTING
- Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik's big push for foreign
aid and human rights has been deflated. Minister of
Development Cooperation Hilde Frafjord Johnson lost NOK 52.5
million to the latest budget sacrifices to the Conservatives.
(Dagbladet)
- No one has any idea when the Romeriksporten tunnel will be
finished. At worst, the work of sealing off the inflow of
groundwater may not be finished until 1999 - six months after
the railway is scheduled to be completed. (Dagsavisen)
- Norway's foremost historians believe Gro Harlem Brundtland
and Kaare Willoch are contending against each other for the
respect of posterity. They have no taste for the debate
between the former prime ministers, and they do not believe
their public confrontation contributes anything to the
historical understanding of the period in question.
(Dagsavisen)
- Kaare Willoch won yesterday's debate against Gro Harlem
Brundtland by a small margin, according to a Scan-Fact poll.
(Verdens Gang)
- Statoil, Norway's government-owned oil company, signed an
agreement yesterday that will make it co-owner of a zone in
the Kazakhstani sector of the Caspian Sea in which immense oil
reserves are presumably found. (Aftenposten)
TODAY'S COMMENT
Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik's success in getting his
two most important measures adopted in his first budget is no
mean political feat for such a small coalition. His victory is
not diminished by the fact that neither the cash benefits
measure nor the raise in minimum pensions were issues that
enjoyed majority support in the Storting. The Centre Party did
not support the cash benefits measure until it came round in
the course of the government coalition negotiations. Together
with Labour, the Conservatives comprised a majority opposed to
an increase in the minimum pension. It would almost seem as
though Mr. Bondevik had a little help from above in bringing
this about, but our admiration stops right there. We seriously
question the assessments upon which these priorities are
based. Cash benefits, in particular, call for a closer look.
The amount allocated in next year's budget is pocket money
compared to the sums that will eventually be involved if the
Government fully implements its plans. If this happens, the
sheer size of the scheme will stand in the way of other
measures which also deserve priority and which even this
Government has pledged to do something about. (Dagbladet)
DATE: 20 November 1997
NEW BOOK TO DISPEL RUMOURS ABOUT SECRET SERVICES
(Dagbladet/Aftenposten)
"Strengt hemmelig" (top secret), a new book that will hit the
bookstands today, is proof that even the most tightly locked
doors guarding the most secret files have given way to the
demand for greater transparency in government. The book
reveals that five top German officers who had played key roles
in the occupation of Norway were brought back in utmost
secrecy by the secret service. These five, who stayed in Oslo
for a month, furnished advice on the defence of northern
Norway. The book was commissioned by the Ministry of Defence
and written by historians Olav Rise and Arnfinn Moland. One of
the most important objectives of the book is to dispel the
profusion of rumours and wild stories that have been
propagated about the secret services.
BONDEVIK ANNOYED WITH JAGLAND (Dagsavisen)
Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik is irritated over what he
views as systematic misinformation by Thorbjoern Jagland. Mr.
Bondevik feels the Labour Party has gone out of its way to
make things hard for the new Government instead of pursuing
constructive politics. "Maybe they just need time to get over
the change in Government, but I think they will eventually
accept the situation and start working with the rest of us,"
says Mr. Bondevik.
NORWAY REJECTS PATENT ON LIVING ORGANISMS (Aftenposten)
Minister of Foreign Affairs Knut Vollebaek will present
Norway's very strong objections to an EU directive which will
permit patents on genetic material from humans, animals and
plants. The battle appears to have been lost already, however.
There are indications that the directive will be adopted in a
form that Norway finds unacceptable. The Government is
therefore prepared to exercise its veto rights if this is the
only way to prevent the directive from becoming law in Norway.
PROGRESS PARTY FINALLY IN FROM THE COLD (Dagsavisen)
The Progress Party has been called many names, including
lepers and malcontents, but after this year's budget
negotiations, party chairman Carl I. Hagen feels his party has
finally come in from the cold. "The Progress Party is now
considered an ordinary party," says Mr. Hagen. In addition to
a normalization of the party's status, one of Mr. Hagen's
goals has been to bring the budget closer in line with his
party's ideals than Mr. Jagland's budget's budget proposal
allowed. "This does not mean we are all that happy about the
budget. We have simply done the best we could with the
situation," he says.
REDUCTION IN FOREIGN AID CONTRACTS TO NORWEGIAN SUPPLIERS
(Dagens Naeringsliv)
Minister of Development Cooperation Hilde Frafjord Johnson
says the Norwegian commercial sector must prepare for a drop
in orders to developing countries. The Government wants to
give local enterprises preferential treatment in the
competition for contracts to official development assistance
projects. "The Confederation of Norwegian Business and
Industry (NHO) supports the growth of commercial enterprise in
developing countries, but we feel Norwegian enterprises are
highly competent and have something to offer in this area,"
says Ann-Kristin Nyroenning of the NHO.
VOLLEBAeK ACKNOWLEDGES ADVANTAGES OF NON-MEMBERSHIP
(Dagsavisen)
Though he voted for Norwegian membership of the EU, Foreign
Minister Knut Vollebaek acknowledges that Norway's independent
position is an advantage when discussing human rights in
international fora. "In certain areas of foreign policy, we
have greater freedom of action than we would have had as
members of the EU. At the same time, though, a European Union
speaking with one voice can make an international impact that
a small, individual country cannot," said Mr. Vollebaek during
Question Time in the Storting yesterday.
WORTH NOTING
- The opening of the new Gardermoen Airport cannot be delayed
without forcing another restructuring of the entire civil
aviation system in northern Scandinavia. (Verdens Gang)
- The dispute between Norway and the EFTA Surveillance
Authority (ESA) over Norway's differentiated system of
employers' social security contributions could jeopardize the
EEA Agreement between Norway and the EU. Finance Minister
Gudmund Restad insists that this scheme is outside the sphere
of the EEA Agreement. The ESA yesterday launched a full
investigation of the system practiced in Norway. (Dagens
Naeringsliv)
- Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik was hard put it to
answer when called upon to explain why Minister of Education,
Research and Church Affairs Jon Lilletun has been meddling in
the internal affairs of the Church of Norway. Mr. Lilletun has
publicly urged Siri Sunde, a pastor who lives openly as a
homosexual, to resign from her job. (Nationen)
- Over 3,000 people have declared their willingness to resort
to civil disobedience to stop work on gas-fired power plants.
(Klassekampen)
- Ernst Baasland has been appointed bishop in Stavanger. This
is the first time a person who is not an ordained minister has
been chosen to be a bishop. His ordination as minister is
likely to take place at the same worship service in which he
will be consecrated to the office of bishop. (Vaart Land)
TODAY'S COMMENT
If the rehash we saw on TV Tuesday night is anything to go by,
we have no reason whatsoever to recall the old squabbles
between Gro Harlem Brundtland and Kaare Willoch with any sort
of gratification. To our annoyance, the debate was nothing
other than a demonstration of petty irritation and hair-
splitting in stark contrast to the fact that the antagonists
were two of our leading political figures. It was all too
obvious that they still manage to bring out the worst in each
other. As long as this is how it is between them, they should
avoid showdowns of this sort. No more confrontations until
they are ready to be more magnanimous, particularly in the
area most difficult for them both - interpretation of the
past. (Nationen)
DATE: 21 November 1997
SOCIALIST LEFT CALLS FOR NEW PROBE (Aftenposten)
Socialist Left party chairman Kristin Halvorsen maintains her
demand for a full investigation of Norway's military
intelligence service. "Olav Riste and Arnfinn Moland's book
(Strengt hemmelig- top secret) is an important contribution,
but it can hardly be viewed as the last word on the
intelligence service," says Ms. Halvorsen. She feels the
Storting should appoint a security policy investigative
commission with representatives from a broad range of
environments and charge them with finding out whether Norway
has had full national control over its intelligence service,
and whether the close collaboration with other countries,
particularly the US, has been consistent with the guidelines
laid down by the Storting. "These are issues that the Lund
Commission's mandate did not address," she says.
EU REMATCH WOULD DOUBLE CENTRE RATINGS (Nationen)
If EU membership again becomes an issue, the Centre Party will
double its voter base and Labour would be the big loser,
followed by the Liberals and Christian Democrats, according to
a survey taken by election analyst Anders Todal Jensen. The
same poll shows that opposition to the EU has not been as high
as it is now since 1982. All this notwithstanding, EU
membership was a non-issue in this year's election. The voters
put health and the elderly first.
RISING PRESSURE AT THE WORKPLACE (Dagsavisen)
According to Statistics Norway's standard of living survey for
1996, nearly half of us work under so much pressure that we
have no time to talk or think about anything but our work
while on the job. 44 per cent of working people last year
indicated that this described their situation at work, against
37 per cent in 1993 and 32 per cent in 1989. Three out of four
indicated that their pace of work is determined entirely by
deadlines and established routines.
ARNSTAD OPENS NJORD FIELD (Aftenposten)
Minister of Petroleum and Energy Marit Arnstad yesterday
opened the new Njord oil field that she strove to delay two
years ago. "It is not this Government's policy to demonstrate
against decisions already taken by the Storting. Several
fields on the Halten Bank are being developed right now, but I
will go by the decisions of the Storting," says Ms. Arnstad.
NORWEGIAN OIL COMPANIES POURING MONEY INTO VENEZUELA (Dagens
Naeringsliv)
Statoil and Norsk Hydro are investing NOK 9 billion in
Venezuela in hopes of having a place in a gigantic oil boom.
The two signed a joint venture agreement yesterday with the
French oil company Total and the state-owned Venezuelan oil
company, Maraven. Statoil in particular is keen on being one
of the leading foreign oil companies in Venezuela and is
willing to invest even more in order to be well-placed for the
oil boom it expects to take place there. The Norwegian oil
companies believe their money will start flowing the other
direction soon, and are considering investing even more.
WORTH NOTING
- Private health care is the second most profitable business
in Norway. Only oil companies make higher profits than private
hospitals, corporate health care services and other major
health care providers. (Dagsavisen)
- The Storting majority's NOK 15 million cut in newspaper
support could spell the end for a number of newspapers
struggling hard to survive. (Aftenposten)
- Strict new rules for safety at sea could strengthen the
Norwegian shipping industry at the expense of the world's
leading shipping nation, Greece. (Aftenposten)
- Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik suggests that sneaking
on streetcars as well as other issues of practical morality
are something that parents should discuss with their children.
He wants to make values a topic of discussion at the family
level, not just in the context of public commissions.
(Dagsavisen)
- The Confederation of Norwegian Business and Industry (NHO)
proposes a number of restrictions on alcohol to be implemented
by the organization itself and by member companies. The
proposal includes a total prohibition against alcohol on the
job, on business trips, at conferences and as Christmas gifts
to employees. (Verdens Gang)
- Lynx killed over 5,300 sheep last summer, according to
figures from sheep farmers in Hedmark and Oppland counties.
1,000 sheep were killed by bears and wolves. (Aftenposten)
TODAY'S COMMENT
The Labour Party is now working on an alternative to the
Government's cash benefits scheme. It will probably be based
on some from of extended parental leave to make the option
available to all parents of small children. Thorbjoern Jagland
believes the cash benefits scheme will meet such massive
resistance and that implementation will lead to so many
problems that Labour's alternative stands a good chance of
being adopted next autumn. But we're afraid Mr. Jagland is
wrong. When the Storting has given its approval to a reform as
extensive as this, it does not easily reverse its decision.
The current majority, as he well knows, will remain unchanged
until 2001, and by then it will be too late to turn back.
Labour did not react to the situation in time to take
appropriate action. Regrettable and, yes, astonishing. Labour
should have recognized this possibility long ago and been
prepared to avert it. (Dagbladet)