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about 388 million euros a year to the EU due to its membership in<br />
the European Economic Area. Broken down this comes to 76€ per<br />
Norwegian annually which is almost as much as Great Britain paid<br />
when they were still an EU member with 89€ per citizen (Sinram &<br />
Kindermann, 2016). This does not make an EU membership appear<br />
so costly anymore. Furthermore, the membership could benefit<br />
the Norwegian economy through easier trade negotiations that are<br />
facilitated through the collective economic power of the EU and full<br />
access to the single market (Berglund, 2023). The collective power<br />
will also make it easier for Norway to regulate big tech companies<br />
such as Facebook and Google (Løkke, 2022).<br />
Lastly, one of the overarching arguments opposing Norwegian EU<br />
membership is Norway’s fishing industry and agrarian industry.<br />
The Norwegian fishing industry is not only important economically<br />
to the country, but also culturally. People are concerned that<br />
Norway‘s fish sector will be harmed by other EU countries accessing<br />
Norwegian waters to fish (Neubacher et al., 2016). A Norwegian EU<br />
membership could also hurt Norwegian farmers as their products<br />
can not compete with the cheaper agricultural goods from other<br />
European countries driving Norwegian farmers into insolvency<br />
(Neubacher et al., 2016). Thus, both of these sectors could potentially<br />
be impaired by Norwegian EU membership. However, only a<br />
small share of Norwegians are working in these two sectors which<br />
means that not as many people would get hurt by a Norwegian<br />
accession to the Union (Neumann, 2002). Furthermore, through<br />
the membership Norway would have complete access to the Single<br />
Market which does not only mean new potential opportunities for<br />
Norwegian businesses and economic growth, but it would also<br />
offer Norway the possibility to sell its fish more easily in the other<br />
Member States (Löffler, 2003).<br />
As outlined, there are arguments both for Norwegian EU<br />
membership and for maintaining the status quo. Depending on<br />
one’s own priorities, one may prioritize the arguments differently<br />
and will arrive at a different answer to the question: should Norway<br />
join the EU? Norway and the EU must continue to work together,<br />
be it through the continuation of EFTA, Norwegian accession to the<br />
Union, or some third way. Whatever direction the debate regarding<br />
Norwegian EU membership takes, the most important thing is to<br />
answer this question through a democratic process.<br />
Sources:<br />
Berge, J., & Heldahl, H. (2022, August 16). EU-sjokk på ny måling: De unge vil melde Norge inn.<br />
Berglund, N. (2023, April 5). Erna fires up Norway’s EU debate.<br />
Europabevegelsen. (2017, September 8). Vurdering av partienes europapolitikk.<br />
European Parliament. (2023). Der Europäische Wirtschaftsraum (EWR), die Schweiz und der Norden.<br />
Geelmuyden Rød, E. (2022, July 14). Should Norway Join the EU? Research on Democracy and Peace Suggests So.<br />
Löffler, R. (2003). Norwegen ante portas? Die wieder auflebende Debatte über einen möglichen EU-Beitritt schafft<br />
neue Allianzen (pp. 79–91)<br />
Løkke, E. (2022, April 5). Derfor bør Norge bli medlem av EU.<br />
Neubacher, C., Silva, J., & Thil, P.-J. (2016, October). Norwegian Exceptionalism: How the European Union can use<br />
Norway to further European Integration.<br />
Neumann, I. B. (2002). This little piggy stayed at home: why Norway is not a member of the EU. In L. Hansen & O.<br />
Wæver (Eds.)<br />
NRK. (2023, April 26). Flere sier ja til EU-medlemskap.<br />
Sinram, J., & Kindermann, K. (2016, June 28). Norwegen und die EU - “Norwegen übernimmt viele Regeln, die in<br />
Brüssel beschlossen werden.”<br />
<strong>NOVEMBER</strong> 2023 <strong>UNIKUM</strong> NR 9 21