ISSN 0804-709X
www.norwaves.comTHE ROYAL MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
Press Division, Oslo
NORWAY DAILY NO. 148-152/94 OEW/SN
DATE: 4 August 1994
SECRET PLAN FOR GAS POWER STATION (Dagens Naeringsliv)
In deep secrecy Statoil, Hydro and the State Power Systems have
planned a gas power station in Norway. The three giants of the
energy industry have already signed an agreement establishing a
joint enterprise called Naturkraft A/S. Their objective is to produce
energy for export purposes. Minister of Industry and Energy Jens
Stoltenberg is among the very few who were aware of these plans.
"We will not take a stand on this until an application for a licence
has been submitted. We will then evaluate the profitability as well
as the environmental factors involved. Thus far we see no reason to
deny the companies the opportunity to continue their evaluations.
Coordination of the world's two most environmentally friendly
sources of energy will facilitate the development of long-term,
reliable sources of energy," says Mr. Stoltenberg.
WINE AND SPIRITS MONOPOLY CONTRARY TO EEA AGREEMENT (Aftenposten)
After considerable pressure Minister of Trade and Shipping Grete
Knudsen yesterday decided to release the previously classified
letters between the Norwegian authorities and the ESA (the surveillance
agency of the EEA) to the public. The last letter from the ESA
concludes that the adjustments made by the Ministry of Social
Affairs and the Wine and Spirits Monopoly in connection with the
EEA Agreement are inadequate. The case is likely to come before
the EFTA Court, and Norway has received a deadline of 25
September to submit any new information on the matter. The only
way of preventing what would be the first case to come before the
EFTA Court would be a change in Norwegian policy. Minister of
Trade and Shipping Grete Knudsen commented, "We take note of
the views of the ESA thus far." As is generally known, the
Government's view is that the monopoly arrangement is non-
discriminatory and in keeping with the competition regulations of
the EEA, she claims. The ESA does not, however, agree. The letter
to the Norwegian authorities states in no uncertain terms that the
import monopoly violates Article 37 of the agreement on free
movement of goods and services and the principle of non-discrimination.
IN THE CORRIDOR AT THE WESTERN EUROPEAN UNION (Arbeiderbladet)
On several occasions Norway has been asked to leave meetings of
the Western European Union. As an associate member we are not
permitted to participate in discussions such as how much influence
associate members should be accorded in the cooperation. Other
matters may have been discussed as well, without the knowledge of
the Norwegian authorities, according to the State Secretary of the
Ministry of Defence, Sigve Brekke.
LARGE NUMBERS TO MOBILIZE (Aftenposten)
The Centre Party intends to secure an anti-EU majority in the
referendum by focusing on the EU system. It also intends to pull
apart the pro-EU argument with regard to Sweden. The party will
strongly emphasize that the EU is a closed union. The Centre Party
hopes to win the EU struggle through a massive mobilization and by
influencing the grass roots both within and outside of the party.
48,000 members, 2500 locally elected politicians and a large
number of local and central representatives will bring information
out to the masses.
INVESTING MORE ABROAD THAN AT HOME (Aftenposten)
The largest Norwegian companies invest abroad. Only one quarter
of these companies' investments in the 1990s have been made in
mainland Norway. The total investment by the largest Norwegian
companies amounted to approximately NOK 100 billion from 1990
to 1993. The North Sea is the most important area for this activity,
having attracted NOK 43 billion in investments. Well over half of
the remaining amount - NOK 57 billion - was invested abroad.
These figures indicate that capital is flowing out of the country.
The reason for this is that Norwegian companies believe that it is more
profitable to invest abroad than at home.
WORTH NOTING:
- Petrol prices will increase by NOK .08 - .09 per litre. The oil
companies justify the price increase by citing higher prices for
crude oil, primarily due to the strike among Nigerian oil workers. In the
last month petrol prices in Norway have gone up by NOK .40 per litre.
- Golar Nor Offshore in Trondheim has won the contest for
construction of the Foinhaven field in the North Sea. After fierce
competition with major international companies, Golar Nor landed
a contract worth NOK 3.7 billion. The oil field will be operated by
British Petroleum.
- The Norwegian authorities are now prepared to forcefully send a
new group of asylum-seekers back home. The last time it was the
Kosova Albanians, and this time it is the Tamils.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
Once again there is evidence that owners are taking out record-
high profits from limited companies. This was not a one-off
phenomenon that occurred last year as a way of adjusting to the
new system of taxation, as was claimed at the time. It is an out-and-
out provocation to the political authorities and the general public
when individual owners are now able to reap huge profits which
are completely tax-free. There is no doubt that these withdrawals
reduce the net worth of the companies in question, which was
already low enough to cause considerable concern. It is also highly
doubtful whether the profits were ever taxed by the companies
themselves, as they should have been according to the new system
of taxation. There is no actual tax on profits. Owners are naturally
careful to receive such small salaries from their own companies that
most of them avoid paying income tax. Why doesn't Minister of
Finance Sigbjoern Johnsen exempt the companies from taxes
altogether and let owners pay taxes on their profits instead? (Dagbladet)
DATE: 5 August 1994
NORWAY AND PLO SIGN NEW AGREEMENT (NTB)
Norway will give the Palestinian self-rule authorities more than
NOK 155 million over a period of three years. This money will be
used to build a new electricity network in Gaza. The agreement was
signed in Gaza on Thursday evening by PLO Chairman Yasser
Arafat and Norwegian Counsellor of Embassy Svein Sevje. "The new
electricity network will be a great boon to the Palestinians, but it
will also be important to Norwegian business and industry. We
anticipate a positive effect on employment in Norway because
Norway will be making substantial deliveries to the Gaza Strip,"
says State Secretary Asbjoern Mathisen of the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs. Thus far no Norwegian company has been assigned the
main contract, due to uncertainty as to whether the Palestinians
would choose a firm in another country. It is now clear, however,
that the Palestinians want a Norwegian company to build the entire
electricity supply in Gaza.
USE OF FALSE PASSPORTS IN MOSSAD CASE NOT A CRIMINAL OFFENCE
(Klassekampen)
The use of false passports by the National Security Police in the
1991 Mossad case is not a criminal offence, according to Director
General of Public Prosecutions Georg Fredrik Rieber-Mohn. The
case is thereby closed. A member of the National Security Police
allowed two representatives of the Israeli intelligence agency
Mossad to use false Norwegian passports in his presence during the
interrogation of PLO defectors in 1991. The Director General of
Public Prosecutions regards this extraordinary method of
investigation as acceptable in principle. Nevertheless, the National
Security Police are being criticized for the procedure they followed.
Mr. Rieber-Mohn believes that it was an error of judgment to equip
Mossad agents with false passports in order to mislead the
Palestinians. This was both unfortunate and deserving of criticism,
according to a letter from Mr. Rieber-Mohn to Senior Public
Prosecutor Lasse Qvigstad of the Eidsivating Office of the
Prosecuting Authority. Norwegian law does not apply to the
National Security Police in this case because there are no clear
guidelines for the use of the investigation method. The public
prosecution authorities therefore regard the Mossad case as closed.
INSUFFICIENT INFORMATION TO THE STORTING ABOUT SALHUS BRIDGE
(Aftenposten)
An investigation by the Office of the Auditor General reveals a
number of important circumstances concerning the Salhus Bridge
project of which the Storting was not informed. In 1987 the
estimated cost of construction of the bridge was NOK 470 million.
As of today, the cost is NOK 1,025 million. As a result of the large
overexpenditure, the Office of the Auditor General is questioning
whether the Storting received sufficient information when politicians
took a decision on the matter. The investigation concludes that there
is reason to question whether plans for the bridge drawn up by the
Ministry of Transport and Communications, the Public Roads
Administration and the Directorate of Public Roads were adequate.
WORTH NOTING:
- According to Yelena Bonner it would be irresponsible of the
Norwegian authorities to extradite the three Iranian airplane
hijackers currently imprisoned in Norway. Andrei Sakharov's widow
warns against conditions in Russian prisons and the lack of legal
safeguards.
- Members of the Norwegian Smallholders' Union are in no hurry to
pay an extra fee of NOK 550 to the campaign against Norwegian
membership of the EU. Only two per cent have paid thus far.
- A situation in which Sweden and Finland join the EU while
Norway remains outside would not create any economic or trade
policy problems for business and industry with regard to Nordic
trade, according to a report prepared for an agricultural information
office.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
An energy alliance between Statoil, Norsk Hydro and the State
Power Systems has led to plans to establish the company Naturkraft
A/S, which in turn will plan construction of the first gas power
station in Norway. This gas power station will produce electric
power equivalent to the amount that would be profitable to export
to Continental Europe and the other Nordic countries. Thus the
Government will also be able to satisfy the wish of the Standing
Committee on Energy and the Environment for more active
involvement in the use of gas in Norway. Last spring the Committee
asked Minister of Industry and Energy Jens Stoltenberg to submit an
additional report on domestic use of gas, because it was not
satisfied with the way this issue was dealt with in the white paper
on petroleum. Construction of a gas power station has been
evaluated on several occasions, in connection with the landing of
gas on Kaarstoe and Tjeldbergodden, the gas discoveries off
Soeroeya in Finnmark and as a potential source of energy for the
Troll field on Kollsnes. Political opposition and an economic decline
have led to a thumbs-down. Soon the project will be a political and
financial reality. (Dagens Naeringsliv)
DATE: 8 August 1994
TRAWLER SHELLED IN PROTECTION ZONE (Aftenposten - Saturday edition)
For the first time, a vessel has been shelled in the process of
enforcing Norwegian fisheries law. The Coast Guard fired two non-
explosive shells at the "Hagangur II" after its Icelandic crew had
fired on the Coast Guard with a rifle. The trawler is under
Icelandic ownership, but registered in Belize. It was discovered
in the Norwegian protection zone Thursday afternoon. The skipper
has admitted to the commander of the "K/V Senja" that shots were
fired while the "Senja"s inflatable boat was close alongside the
trawler. Three Coast Guard officers were in the inflatable.
According to the Coast Guard, the projectile struck the water only
two metres from the boat. The Icelanders explained that they were
shooting at birds.
HIGH LEVEL LEGAL INVESTIGATION (Aftenposten)
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Director General of Public
Prosecutions got involved yesterday in the investigation of the
detention of the Belize-registered trawler "Hagangur II" to
clarify the legal aspects according to international law. The
skipper was charged yesterday with assault on public servants and
the mate was charged with complicity. The skipper is additionally
charged with violating the provisions of the Svalbard Act with
regard to the obligation to permit Norwegian inspection
authorities to board fishing vessels in the protection zone.
CENTRE PARTY IRRESPONSIBLE (Aftenposten/Dagbladet - Saturday editions)
The Centre Party has become an irresponsible party letting itself
be dictated to by Marxists in the security policy debate,
according to Minister of Defence Joergen Kosmo. He has long been
irritated by the chameleon tactics of Centre spokesmen on foreign
affairs and security issues, saying one thing in the Storting and
another to the voters in the ongoing EU debate. "When Anne Enger
Lahnstein states that she opposes EU membership, she is also
opposing NATO. It is shameless and cowardly of the Centre Party
foreman to tell the Norwegian people otherwise," according to
State Secretary Sigve Brekke. "Revealing her real stand on NATO
would put Ms. Lahnstein on a collision course with her own voters,
so she says nothing."
CENTRE LEADER STRIKES BACK AT JOeRGEN KOSMO (Aftenposten)
Centre's parliamentary leader, Johan J. Jakobsen, interprets the
statements of Minister of Defence Joergen Kosmo and his State
Secretary, Sigve Brekke, as equating opposition to EU membership
with opposition to NATO. Pointing out that six of the eleven
members of the Standing Committee on Defence oppose membership of
the EU, Mr. Jakobsen observes that if such is the case, Mr. Kosmo
and Mr. Brekke must also ascribe to the majority on the committee
views running directly counter to the official Norwegian NATO
involvement. "This concerns mutual trust between the committee and
the Ministry's political leaders," notes Mr. Jakobsen.
DEFICIT DOWN TO NOK 30 BILLION (Aftenposten)
State Secretary Svein Harald Oeygard of the Ministry of Finance
confirms that the fiscal budget deficit will fall below NOK 40
billion this year, and that the 1995 fiscal budget "will take us a
good step further". Higher oil prices and stronger economic growth
than anticipated in the revised fiscal budget have given
government income a boost. There are indications that tax revenues
in the municipal sector will be NOK 1.6 billion higher than
previously anticipated, so the municipalities may reach their
income targets in 1995 with a substantially lower amount of
transfers from the national government.
WORTH NOTING:
- The Director General of Public Prosecutions has asked the
National Authority for Investigation and Prosecution of Economic
and Environmental Crime to assess NORAD's payment of NOK 25
million to the Partizanski Put, a Serbian company, in 1992 and 1993.
- In a joint statement, the Nordic foreign ministers have asked
the Iranian government to take an unequivocal stand against the
death threat issued against author Salman Rushdie by Iran's formerleader.
- Only 200 of the 1300 members of the Norwegian Farmers' and
Smallholders' Union have paid an extra NOK 550 contribution to the
campaign against Norwegian membership of the EU.
- The provisions of a draft Companies Act introduced in the
Storting would make it impossible to empty a corporation's
distributable reserves by paying out dividends.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
When shots are fired at a Norwegian Coast Guard vessel seeking to
uphold the jurisdiction Norway claims over the contested
protection zone around Svalbard, a sharp reaction is in order.
However, it is doubtful whether Norwegian interests are best
served by firing up this conflict with Iceland to the degree
occasioned by the actions of the Norwegian authorities during the
past few days. In all likelihood, the claim will be made that the
Icelandic trawler was boarded in international waters, reference
being made to the fact that Finland is the only country that has
accepted the Norwegian interpretation of international agreements
on which establishment of the protection zone has been based.
Serious discussions are now essential at the highest political
level. Norway is not alone in the world, so we must negotiate
binding agreements on how the resources in the Loophole and the
protection zone around Svalbard should be managed. We will not
accomplish this by detaining one or more of the foreign trawlers
challenging the jurisdiction claimed by Norway over these areas.
(Aftenposten)
DATE: 9 August 1994
FIRST MATE DETAINED (NTB/Aftenposten)
The Icelandic trawler "Hagangur II" left Tromsoe for Iceland
Monday evening without its first mate. The Icelandic owners first
had to provide a NOK 220,000 bank guarantee to cover fines and
court costs. The police have petitioned the Nord-Troms court of
examination to have the mate remanded in custody until
arraignment, no later than Friday this week. The captain and the
shipowner have been fined NOK 50,000 and NOK 105,000 respectively
for having resisted inspection by the Coast Guard. At the
recommendation of the Troms and Finnmark Public Prosecutor, they
will not be charged with illegal fishing in the protection zone.
"Under the present legal codes, it would be difficult to
successfully press charges of unlawful fishing in the protection
zone around Svalbard, so this count is not included in the charges
against the captain and owner of the 'Hagangur II'," says Senior
Public Prosecutor for the Troms and Finnmark jurisdiction Tormod
Bakke. "The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will take no action in
connection with the shooting incident involving the 'Hagangur II'.
This is a case for the prosecuting authority, but we will be
following the case with great interest," says press spokesman
Ingvard Havnen.
NEW ASSAULT ON CENTRE SECURITY POLICY (Aftenposten)
The verbal war between supporters and opponents of EU membership
on defence and security policy issues continues. Defence Minister
Joergen Kosmo denies that he has stated that opposition to EU
membership implies opposition to NATO. He accepts that the Centre
Party is in favour of NATO, but he takes definite issue with the
logic of the party's stand. "The Centre supports a NATO that no
longer exists. Johan J. Jakobsen and the others in the Centre
Party oppose NATO's policies and are not facing up to reality,
namely, that the Western European Union (WEU) is NATO's mainstay
in Europe as well as the EU's military organization." Mr. Kosmo
concedes that his criticism of the Centre Party also applies to
members of his own party who oppose membership of the EU. "Anti-
accessionists in the Labour Party should realize that with respect
to security policy, we are much worse off outside the EU than
inside," he says.
KOSMO LIKELY TO BE CALLED TO ACCOUNT (Arbeiderbladet)
The Stortinget's Standing Committee on Defence will interrupt its
recess next week to decide whether to call Defence Minister
Joergen Kosmo to appear before the committee. If a majority is in
favour, he will have to appear before the committee to explain
statements he has made which many feel have labelled all anti-
accessionists as opponents of NATO, according to committee
chairman Hans J. Roesjorde (Progress Party).
LABOUR MARKET MEASURES TO BE TRIMMED (Aftenposten)
The Government will be trimming labour market measures next year
if the economy continues to improve, according to State Secretary
Erik Orskaug of the Ministry of Local Government and Labour. The
number of people completely out of work is 10,000 lower than at
this time last year. Favourable oil prices and economic recovery
have boosted tax revenues, greatly reduced the budget deficit and
prompted anticipation of a growing demand for labour. Mr. Orskaug
emphasizes, however, that it is still too early to say how much
the measures will be cut in next year's budget.
WORTH NOTING:
- Jens Evensen, former Minister of the Law of the Sea, urges
Norway to begin negotiating with Iceland immediately.
- The Chernobyl disaster will probably cost Norway around NOK 20
million this year. Nearly 100 municipalities are still receiving
special funding.
- The Ministry of Agriculture denies having classified as secret
an EU directive on the use of hormones on production livestock.
"The proposal we are working on is for internal use thus far,"
says political adviser Ingrid Norstein.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
State revenues are likely to increase much more this year than the
Government had anticipated as recently as in June, and it looks as
if the trend will continue next year as well. Higher oil prices
and stronger economic growth than anticipated are the reason. As
the economy recovers, though, there is always the danger that a
renewed borrowing stampede, with spiralling prices and costs, will
cause the economy to overheat. We can only hope that the banking,
commercial and private sectors have learned from the mistakes of
the 1980s, and that growth does not get out of hand. The present
economic upswing should be met with due restraint, and we should
be prepared for a continued high level of taxation. We have every
reason to react, however, when State Secretary Oeygard of the
Ministry of Finance advocates raising taxes and duties even more.
Such a step may prove necessary if the economy threatens to run
away, but it has shown no signs of doing so at present. The
Government should save the money it is already raking in instead
of levying new taxes. (Verdens Gang)
DATE: 10 August 1994
OLSEN WILL NOT NEGOTIATE QUOTAS (Aftenposten)
Although Norway claims full sovereignty in the protection zone
around Svalbard, not a single one of the 17 "pirate trawlers" now
fishing in the zone has been fined. The Coast Guard and the Public
Prosecutor both maintain that there is no legal basis for levying
fines. Minister of Fisheries Jan Henry T. Olsen disagrees,
however, saying they are within their full rights to do so. The
Fisheries Minister dismisses proposals to grant quotas to the
Icelanders, and will not listen to former Minister of the Law of
the Sea Jens Evensen's recommendation to negotiate with the
Icelandic authorities. "We cannot set up a system which allows
other nations to simply go into the protection zone and help
themselves and then receive quotas for having done so," says Mr. Olsen.
EU DOUBTERS HAVE MOST CONFIDENCE IN MS. BRUNDTLAND (Nationen)
A recent survey of voter confidence in the two sides of the EU
membership issue reveals that Ms. Brundtland is by far the
strongest card in the hands of the pro-membership wing in the
contest for the votes of the Eurodoubters. The Government is well
ahead of all other contenders when it comes to doubter confidence.
"No to the EU" and the European Movement in Norway rated lowest.
According to this survey, the only confidence enjoyed by these
two organizations is that of their own members, who have already
taken a stand. But in the campaign leading up to the referendum on
EU membership, the battle for votes will focus on the doubters.
Sixty-three per cent of the Eurodoubters said they were very
confident or somewhat confident in the Government's argumentation
on EU membership. Only one per cent of the doubters replied that
they were very confident in the European Movement in Norway. Two
per cent replied that they were very confident in "No to the EU".
CONTROVERSY AMONG ANTI-ACCESSIONISTS OVER POTENTIAL SWEDISH
YES-VOTE (Verdens Gang)
"No to the EU" is split on the issue of the significance of a Yes
vote in the Swedish referendum on EU membership. The feeling is
widespread at the grass-roots level that the anti-accessionist
leaders are not taking the threat of a Swedish Yes vote seriously
enough. Eva Nordlund, second in command in "No to the EU",
dismisses the criticism. "We are very concerned about what is
going on in Sweden, but we must deflect the accessionists' tactic
of putting Norway's fate into the hands of the Swedes in order to
set up a pro-membership current to help sweep us into the EU," she says.
EU MEMBERSHIP WOULD ENHANCE NORWEGIAN SECURITY (Aftenposten)
"We have seen no signs of EU aggression to date," says Chief of
Defence Staff Torolf Rein. He dismisses claims by Centre Party
chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein that the EU may deploy military
forces aggressively anywhere in the world. Mr. Rein emphasizes
that neither he nor the Headquarters Defence Command Norway have
any official view on Norwegian membership of the EU. He states
only what, in his view, would enhance Norwegian defence and
security. He points out that the NATO summit in January issued a
declaration in which NATO expressed full support for the
development of a European defence identity, for the Maastricht
Treaty and for the Western European Union. In his view, this is an
indication that Europe will assume more responsibility for its own
defence.
WORTH NOTING:
- Norwegian authorities are highly critical of the World Bank's
health and population control programme in Bangladesh. Norway has
contributed NOK 438 million to this programme in the course of the
past 15 years. It is now apparent that much of this assistance
never reached its destination.
- The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received over 100
applications for support to EU information projects in the autumn,
but it has only NOK 4.8 million to distribute. The applications
are divided evenly between pro and anti-membership organizations.
- Defence Minister Joergen Kosmo's hand-picked adviser, Anne
Roervik, is the only Government political appointee who is a
declared anti-accessionist.
- Norsk Hydro has discovered a promising deposit of oil and gas
south of the Oseberg field. The Petroleum Directorate says it is
still to early to make a definite statement on the size of the find.
- Development of the Troll oil field on the North Sea represents
60,800 man-years in Norway. Every third contract has gone to
foreign contractors, however.
TODAY'S COMMENT:
Centre Party parliamentary leader Johan J. Jakobsen displayed
great skill in laying a formidable smoke-screen over the obvious
blunder made by Centre chairman Anne Enger Lahnstein on television
when she cast doubt on her party's views on NATO. Now he is
combining a high noise level with low fact content to ward off
criticism of the Centre's credibility gap on security policy
issues. His most remarkable move was to call for Defence Minister
Joergen Kosmo to appear before the Storting's Defence Committee.
It is beyond us why an unusually heated exchange should be
anything for the standing committees to get involved in. The crux
of the matter is that NATO's and the EU's views on the future role
of the Western European Union in security policy have converged.
One cannot embrace the one and reject the other, as Ms. Lahnstein
attempted to do on television the other day. She disagrees with
NATO and EU policy in this area, but her courage faltered when it
came to saying so. (Dagbladet)
