Norway is famous for many things, from its glorious fjords and the aurora borealis to its oil industry and world-leading levels of happiness. It’s also one of the few developed European nations that isn’t a member of the EU.

With Brexit looming and the UK’s decision to leave the European Union being scrutinised, a lot of commentators are turning to Norway as an example of a state that cooperates with its neighbours without being directly involved in centralised continental power.

So what is Norway’s relationship with the EU and what can be learned from the way these two entities interact with one another?

Image Credit: Mikita Karasiou

Economic Influences

In spite of the fact that Norway is not a member of the EU, it remains closely tied to its collective counterparts through both the European Free Trade Association and the European Economic Area.

It is because of these links, in addition to its geographic proximity, that over 70 per cent of Norway’s trade is with EU nations.

Each year Norway generates almost €100 billion in trade with the EU, of which around half is made up of imports from member states.

In a sense this means that irrespective of its independence, Norway is still beholden to the trade rules and regulations which are conjured up by its collaborators. This has an impact on everything from its manufacturing sector to its energy market.

Norway also has an affinity with many EU countries from a cultural perspective. The illegality of most forms of gambling, both online and off, ties it to other parts of Europe. There are sites operated by firms like Casumo Casino that cater to Norwegian players, but the regulations remain restrictive.

Attempts At A Union

While Norway is currently not part of the EU, it has made moves towards joining it in the past. It held referenda on this topic twice; first in 1972 and then again in 1994.

In the 1972 vote, 53.5 per cent of Norwegian citizens opted to keep the country out of the union, echoing the similarly slim majority that UK’s Leave campaign earned in 2016. 22 years later the margin of anti-EU feeling had fallen, but not by much. 52.2 per cent of people voted to keep the country’s sovereignty at this point.

This creates an intriguing and often confusion state of affairs for Norway, as it still has the option of reapplying to join the EU if there is sufficient support for this move amongst the political classes and the general public alike.

Reasons For Independence

Although it is reliant on the EU for much of its trade, one of the arguments against Norway joining up with its neighbouring nations in an official capacity is that it would not actually be eligible for a particularly large slice of support from the centralised bodies that govern the union and its member states.

Euro-sceptics in Norway argue that the country could end up paying in more than it gets out of EU membership, since it does not have a large need for the kinds of agricultural and social subsidies which are so important in other parts of the continent.

The resilience of its economy and the fact that it is a stable, prosperous democracy also counts against the arguments for its becoming part of the EU. In a sense this makes the issue fairly apolitical, since irrespective of ideologies it is apparent that Norway may not have a huge amount to gain from joining forces with this assembly of nations.

Those political parties that do want Norway to enter the EU believe that this will give them the opportunity to influence legislation and shape the decisions that are being made without them at the moment. But for the time being, the country looks set to remain a cooperative but distinct outsider.

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