{"id":20,"date":"2008-12-15T08:28:22","date_gmt":"2008-12-15T12:28:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/?p=20"},"modified":"2008-12-15T08:28:22","modified_gmt":"2008-12-15T12:28:22","slug":"nei-til-eu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.transparent.com\/norwegian\/nei-til-eu\/","title":{"rendered":"Nei til EU!"},"content":{"rendered":"

No to the European Union!\u00a0 This is quite a popular expression in Norway, so popular that someone spray painted it onto a rock far off the northwestern coast of Norway.\u00a0 I saw it from the Hurtigruten<\/strong>.\u00a0 Although graffiti in Norway is not as prevalent as it is in Germany, “Nei til EU”<\/strong> has certainly made it’s presence on structures all over the country.<\/p>\n

Why do Norwegians not want to be part of the EU?\u00a0 It’s complicated.\u00a0 Norway is<\/span> a member of the EEA (European Economic Area).\u00a0 In 1963, Norway and the United Kingdom applied for membership to the EEC (European Economic Community) and were approved in 1972.\u00a0 However, after a popular referendum, the majority of Norwegians voted against it.\u00a0 In 1992 Norway became a memeber of the EEA.\u00a0 Upon learning what Norway puts into the EU and the little it gets out, many foreigners wonder why in the world Norway doesn’t want to be a part of the EU.\u00a0 Norway pays around 240 million Euros annually to the EU budget, but receives nothing in return.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The first obvious answer is that Norway simply has the money.\u00a0 Norway has the money to buy into this kind of membership without receiving any sort of monetary benefit.\u00a0 Because of the annual dues that Norway pays, it is able to be a part of EU agreements.\u00a0 For example, Norway is part of the Schengen Agreement<\/em>, which essentially makes it easier for Europeans to travel freely within Europe’s borders.\u00a0 The agreement allows Europeans to simply drive slowly through border controls, assuming the car is marked with a green disk, the sign that the people in the car come from a country in Europe that is part of the Schengen Agreement.<\/em>\u00a0<\/p>\n

Norway is also part of Europol<\/em>, a European criminal intelligence agency, in addition to Eurojust<\/em>, a European system designed to enhance cross-border judicial cooperation concerning organized crime.\u00a0 Several other arrangements that Norway belongs to include the EMCDDA<\/em> (European Monitoring Center for Drugs and Drug Additction, Frontex, <\/em>a European border control agency, the European Defense Agency<\/em>, and others.<\/p>\n

As for the reason Norway has not chosen to be a full member of the EU.\u00a0 Four reasons:\u00a0 popular power, solidarity, environment, and free commerce.\u00a0 I believe that deep down it is national pride the keeps Norway out of the EU.\u00a0 Norway did not become an independent, sovereign nation until 1905.\u00a0 Since the sixteenth centuryy, Norway was ruled by neighboring countries.\u00a0 It is still a relatively new country in terms of independence.\u00a0 After the great oil\u00a0reserves discovered off the coast, which made the creation of the welfare state possible, Norwegians are simply not ready to give up this sort of wealth and freedom.\u00a0 They do not want the rest of Europe to determine the political, cultural, and economic fate of their country.\u00a0 Understandably so in my opinion.\u00a0 What do you all think??<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

No to the European Union!\u00a0 This is quite a popular expression in Norway, so popular that someone spray painted it onto a rock far off the northwestern coast of Norway.\u00a0 I saw it from the Hurtigruten.\u00a0 Although graffiti in Norway is not as prevalent as it is in Germany, “Nei til EU” has certainly made…<\/p>\n

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