Norway: no to the EEA
Sunday 4 August 2013
And, although we have extolled the virtues of the EEA, holding up the Norwegian membership of this agreement as an example of where Britain might go when we leave the EU, even in Norway there is opposition to this route. For instance, Helle Hagenau (pictured) would prefer to leave the European Economic Area (EEA) altogether, reflecting the official position of the country's "no" campaign, of which she is its International Officer.
I first met Helle in Brussels in the year 2000, when she was working alongside us in UKIP and the EDD group, then led by Dane Jens Peter Bonde. She is also a Dane, with a very strong left bias to her politics, supporting the social model and organised labour. It was no surprise, therefore, that she ended up working with the unions in the UK, on the euro campaign, and then joined the "no" campaign in Oslo, where her organisation also works closely with the unions.
Still boasting 30,000 members, after having reached nearly half a million at the height of the 1994 referendum "no" campaign draws its funding from public subscription and from the unions, farmers and fishermen. It is a cross party group, although is most closely allied to the Centre Party.
The "no" campaign's opposition to the EEA agreement (Eøs avtalen) rests on the perception of the "democratic deficit". The campaign notes that about 500 new EU laws were passed into Norwegian law last year, with little public debate and next to no consultation.
The campaign has recently supported the postal workers' opposition to the EU's postal services directive, and resistance is building to the data retention directive which, although passed after a compromise between the Labour party and the Conservative opposition, has yet to be adopted as Norwegian legislation.
Stresses are intensifying as the number of EU laws requiring adoption increase, and January this year saw Norway being accused of "selfishness", picking those laws which suited it and ignoring the rest. As of October 2012, 427 EU laws were outstanding, awaiting implementation and another point of conflict coming up is the "fourth railway package” which the Norwegian rail unions are determined to resist.
Helle speaks enthusiastically about being outside the EU. As a result, she told me, Norway has kept its political independence both nationally and internationally. This has been especially valuable in dealing with the United Nations, she told me.
"When the Norwegian government decides to promote a certain point of view at the UN General Assembly, we just do it", she said. "There is no need to negotiate with numerous other countries and an EU Commission, resulting in a watered down version of that message".
Confirming Anne Tvinnereim's experience, she recalls how she had visited the UN in New York, only to have both the Swedish and Danish delegations tell her that they had asked the Norwegians to present their case to the UN, being unable to do so themselves, within the EU.
The effect of globalisation on regulation was well recognised in Norwegian circles, but the debate had hardly started in the UK, Helle said. They watched the UK debate very closely, and found that major issues were simply not discussed.
There were similar complaints in Norway though. There were
Last week, the Klassekampen (leftwing newspaper) carried an article based on a survey done by "No to the EU" (pictured right). It showed how the different parties in Parliament responded to EU issues, with the two biggest supporting the EU and the EEA. The green ticks show the support for the "no" position and the red crosses indicate the opposing view.Despite the general election coming up in September, the EU still tends to be a non-issue and the "No to the EU" campaign was urging both parties and voters to raise the question of the EEA.
Nevertheless, Helle completely understands the reasons for British support of the EEA. As a halfway house, it makes complete sense. But, she says, "If the UK were to sign up to the EEA Agreement, it would have to be renegotiated", adding that, "With Britain on our side we would be in a stronger position. Her organisation has been very active in researching alternatives to the EEA, and has produced a long report exploring the options. As an old campaigning hand, Helle is fully aware that positive alternatives must be on offer. She sees in British euroscepticism, one of its great weaknesses in failing to produce a credible alternative to the EU. "Just to say we must get out is not enough", she says.
Next year, Norway celebrates the 20th anniversary of the 1994 referendum which kept them out of the EU. "No to the EU" is sponsoring a history of the campaign, to be published on the anniversary, setting out some of the lessons learned.
But one lesson is already evident. Having a well-established permanent "no" campaign, outside the political parties, is a great advantage when to comes to keeping the politicians on their toes. As apeople's movement, their research keeps the debate alive.
One of their latest leaflets, "four reasons not to join the EU" is a classic of its kind. "Defending a vibrant democracy was the main reason the people voted no to the EU in 1994", it says. "Outside the EU, we have a democracy where people participate and the politicians are accountable to the voters".
Citing "solidarity", "environment" and "freedom", in addition to "democracy", there is no suggestion that economic grounds are a factor. And there is a lesson for us from most successful of all anti-EU campaigns.
High ideals such as "democracy" do play EU politics. During the 1994 campaign, the "yes" campaign played the same cards that our europhiles are using, right down to the "100,000 jobs" that were going to be lost if Norway didn't join the EU.
Yet, when it came to the vote, self-governance mattered. When the people in Norway were given the choice, by an active and effective "no" campaign, they opted for democracy.
Some would have us believe that such issues are "emotional" but, as Autonomous Mind also points out, we should "seize the positive". With the Norwegian "no" campaign leading the way, we can be confident that this is the way to go.
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Richard North 04/08/2013
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