Quote:Norway wants to get OUT of ‘bad deal’ with EU– Brussels hit by huge new blow ahead of vote

Norway is seemingly keen on loosening relations with Brussels as a Eurosceptic party tops the
polls in the upcoming 2021 elections.

'The Nordic nation is not part of the EU but is part of the European single market meaning it is forced
to follow certain Brussels policies through the European Economic Area Agreement which it has no
say over as a non-member.

But the deal allows Oslo to retain more control over key parts of its economy particularly its fishing grounds.
It previously negotiated annually with the bloc about the management of common fish stocks, access to
each other’s waters and exchange of fish quotas until the UK left the EU.


Norway could loosen relations with the EU. Pictured: Erna Solberg. Fishing is an important part of Norway's economy 

Now Oslo wants a trilateral deal in place between the UK and EU but these negotiations have not yet
started because of the ongoing scramble between London and Brussels.

Norway’s fisheries minister Roger Ingebrigtsen said: “If we do not get a deal by January 1st, we will not
open Norway’s economic fishing zones to vessels from the EU and Britain.”

But the Centre Party, led by Trygve Slagsvold Vedum, said alternatives needed to be looked at hinting
at a cutting of the cord with the EU. The Centre Party is also pushing hard to cut the amount Norway
pays in grants to Brussels from the €2.7billion it paid in 2014-2021.

Sigbjørn Gjelsvik, the party’s spokesman on EU relations, said: “The deal we have now is a bad one.
“We need to discuss the alternatives."

The Norwegian MP said the Party wanted something closer to a “traditional trade deal like Canada has”.
In opinion polls undertaken by Kantar, Centre registered 22.1 percent support whilst the ruling Conservatives
led by Prime Minister Erna Solberg were backed by 20.2 percent of voters surveyed.
It was the first time the Centre Party had led such a survey since Kantar began measuring voter habits in 1964.

Another poll undertaken by Sentio Research Norway AS revealed 49 percent of Centre voters would answer
yes, while only 39 percent would answer no in a referendum on the existing EEA agreement.
Torgeir Knag Fylkesnes, Centre Party leader, added: “We will look at the election result and take it from there.

“We are convinced that there are better ways to organize trade and cooperation with the EU, without having to
lose the country for power over our own societal development.”

The Centre Party was founded almost 100 years ago and backed successful campaigns rejecting EU
membership at referenda in 1972 and 1994.

In response, a spokesman for Norway’s Prime Minister Erna Solberg, said: “The Center Party wants to
rip the foundation from under our market access."...'  

(12-16-2020, 03:29 AM)beez Wrote: No-Exit?

(12-16-2020, 03:29 AM)beez Wrote: No-Exit?