70% van de Noren wil niet bij de EU

More Norwegians are against seeking European Union (EU) membership today than several decades ago, making the prospect of Norway joining the 28-member bloc look even dimmer.

A new opinion poll, the Norwegian news agency NTB reported Monday, shows that 70 percent of Norwegians opposes joining the EU. Only 20.2 percent of respondents in the poll, which was carried out by the agency Sentio for Norwegian-language newspapers Klassekampen” and “Nationen,” were in favor of Norway joining the EU.

“The Norwegian resistance to (joining) the EU is strong and ongoing,” said Heming Olaussen, leader of “Nei til EU”, a 26,000-strong Norwegian political group spearheading a “Say no to EU” movement. “The idea that we would give up Norway to a United States of Europe? I think that idea is completely inedible to 90 percent of the Norwegian population,” said Olaussen.

Norway has said no to joining the EU in two close-fought referendums, the first in 1972 and the last in 1994. The result in 1994 was close with 52.2 percent of no votes and 47.8 percent of yes votes when the turnout was a massive 89 percent. Since 1994, Norway has steadily aligned itself with the EU in economic and political matters, mainly through its membership in the European Economic Area (EEA). The EEA is an agreement that facilitates trade between EU member countries and the four non-EU countries — namely Norway, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and Iceland.

Lees verder op New Europe Online