Norway should re-apply for membership in the European Union due to common security challenges. In an interview with Politico magazine, the chairperson of the Norwegian opposition Conservative Party (Höyre) and former foreign minister Ine Eriksen Söreide spoke in favor of this idea. TASR informs about it.
Norway is applying for membership in the European Unionrespectively in its predecessor, the European Economic Community, reported a total of four times – twice in the 1960s, once in 1972 and the last time in 1994. The first two efforts failed due to the attitudes of the then French President Charles de Gaulle, the rest were rejected by the Norwegians in a referendum.
Although the oil-rich Nordic country is not part of the EU, it is strongly integrated with the bloc through the European Economic Areawhich gives it, together with Iceland and Liechtenstein, access to the Union’s single market. At the same time, this means that it adopts many EU rules and regulations. However, it has no say in decision-making within the EU.
Relations between Brussels and Oslowhich according to Politico characterized by a certain distancehowever, given the wars and growing threats, they no longer meet current needs, Eriksenová Söreideová pointed out. “In my opinion, as well as in the opinion of my party, it would be best for us to become full members of the EU,” she said in an interview with the magazine on Thursday. She emphasized that, according to her, Norway’s interests lie within the EU.
Former Minister of Foreign Affairs and Defense stated that the disadvantages of Norway not being a member of the EU were also pointed out by the recent disputewhen the EU introduced restrictions on the import of additives used in steel production from third countries, including Norway.
As another incentive for joining the EU, Eriksen Söreide mentioned a possible similar move by Iceland. The government there recently proposed holding a referendum on August 29 to resume EU membership negotiations, which were suspended in 2015. According to her, Norway would benefit from EU membership in other areas as well, such as defense, space, healthcare and security in the Arctic, in addition to trade.
According to Politico, public opinion polls from recent years show that the majority of Norwegians remain against joining the Unionwhile concerns about the protection of the country’s extensive energy resources outweigh the benefits of membership. But support for entry has grown over the past 18 months amid tensions in transatlantic relations and US President Donald Trump’s threats to seize Greenland.
However, the current Norwegian government has not shown any interest in starting a nationwide debate on EU membership and the next parliamentary election will not be held until 2029. Höyre is currently the third most popular party in Norway.
