Norway faces possible change in EU ties after election
While the upcoming elections in Norway could very well result in the cooling of relations between the country and the European Union, some experts suggest that might not actually be the case, French Press Agency reports.
After eight years of a pro-European center-right government, polls suggest the Scandinavian country is headed for a change of administration.
A left-green coalition in some shape or form is expected to emerge victorious, with the main opposition Labour Party relying on the backing of several eurosceptic parties to obtain a majority in parliament.
In its remote corner of Europe, Norway is not a member of the EU but it is closely linked to the bloc through the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement.
The deal gives Norway access to the common market in exchange for the adoption of most European directives.
Both the Centre Party and the Socialist Left – the Labour Party's closest allies, which together have around 20% of voter support – have called for the marriage of convenience to be dissolved.
"The problem with the agreement we have today is that we gradually transfer more and more power from the Storting (Norway's parliament), from Norwegian lawmakers, to the bureaucrats in Brussels who are not accountable," Centre Party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum said in a recent televised debate.
Defending the interests of its rural base, the Centre Party wants to replace the EEA with trade and cooperation agreements.
However, Labour leader Jonas Gahr Store, who is expected to become the next prime minister, does not want to jeopardize the country's ties to the EU, by far Norway's biggest trading partner.
"If I go to my wife and say 'Look, we've been married for years and things are pretty good, but now I want to look around to see if there are any other options out there' ... Nobody (in Brussels) is going to pick up the phone" and be willing to renegotiate the terms, Gahr Store said in the same debate.
Running with the same metaphor, Slagsvold Vedum snapped back: "If your wife were riding roughshod over you every day, maybe you would react."
News.Az
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