this post was submitted on 01 Feb 2025

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Norway

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AwesomeLowlander

New EU-friendly leadership for Norway (www.newsinenglish.no)

submitted 6 days ago by AwesomeLowlander to c/[email protected]

13 comments fedilink hide all child comments

What are your views on Norway's relationship with the EU?

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[–] [email protected] 9 points 6 days ago (1 children)

Norway should join the EU.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 5 days ago

Why?

Can you name any down sides?

[–] [email protected] 8 points 6 days ago

Lol - its the same guys just without the farmers party.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 6 days ago (2 children)

Some political commentators think Center may win back voters who defected to the right-wing Progress Party, while Labour can gain on perhaps the most important issue tied to the entire drama: Cooperation with the EU, or even joining the EU.

Joining the EU? Wow. Would that be good for the EU or would we be welcoming another country willing to break it up and sow discord?

[–] AwesomeLowlander 4 points 5 days ago

Norwegians... sow discord... error: Does not compute

[–] [email protected] 2 points 5 days ago

Norway is incredibly oil-brained and quite steeped in Norwegian exceptionalism … but there's also a lot of people who love the status quo no matter what, so it's not clear what the effect of Norway joining would actually be

[+] [email protected] -6 points 5 days ago (1 children)

No thanks. We voted no twice, and what EU had turned into now is far "worse" than what we already voted no to.

[–] [email protected] 13 points 5 days ago (1 children)

The average Norwegian has never had the chance to vote on the EU. The people who voted twice are all retired or dead.

[–] [email protected] -4 points 5 days ago (1 children)

1994 is not that long ago, and the politicians still entered EU regardless.

When we visited Brussel during VGs ~10 years ago we had a guide show us around the EU headquarters, when the guide asked how many wanted to join EU only two people raised their hand. Small sample pool, but I don't think the younger voting generation are overwhelmingly pro EU or anything. A 2023 poll also had 56% in opposition to joining EU, and only 52% in support for EØS.

[–] [email protected] 10 points 5 days ago (1 children)

1994 is not that long ago,

It's 31 years ago. The people who were of voting age at that time are 49 or older now. The average age in Norway is 41. The average Norwegian isn't old enough to have voted on the EU even once, much less twice.

and the politicians still entered EU regardless.

They did not. We are in the EEC and Schengen, but not in the EU.

Your anecdote is just that. The Finns and Swedes had a sudden change of heart about NATO after Putin invaded. Norwegians might similarly have a change of heart about NATO and the EU if NATO starts rotting at the head.

[–] [email protected] 0 points 5 days ago (1 children)

They did not. We are in the EEC and Schengen, but not in the EU.

EØS is essentially the same as joining, just worse

Your anecdote is just that. The Finns and Swedes had a sudden change of heart about NATO after Putin invaded. Norwegians might similarly have a change of heart about NATO and the EU if NATO starts rotting at the head.

Why mix a defensive alliance with what is mutating into "United States of Europe", those are vastly different kind of deals. You're not giving up any serious form of autonomy by joining NATO.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 5 days ago (1 children)

[EEC] is essentially the same as joining, just worse

I tend to agree; I think the decision to not be able to vote was a bad one.

Why mix a defensive alliance with what is mutating into "United States of Europe", those are vastly different kind of deals.

Norway is a sparsely populated and poorly defended country with a lot of natural resources and a long, often strategic, coastline. We're better off being allied to countries that share our ideals, in a union that has actually brought peace to the continent, than being gobbled up by some other superpower that believes in one or another variant of ethnic supremacy.

You're not giving up any serious form of autonomy by joining NATO.

NATO is to a large degree "USA with friends". An EU defence is looking more and more needed.

[–] [email protected] -1 points 5 days ago

Norway is a sparsely populated and poorly defended country with a lot of natural resources and a long, often strategic, coastline. We're better off being allied to countries that share our ideals, in a union that has actually brought peace to the continent, than being gobbled up by some other superpower that believes in one or another variant of ethnic supremacy.

Eh, Russia could have taken parts of Norway back in the days if they wanted. It's clear they are more interested in the parts of Europe they consider "theirs". Their hostility towards us nowadays is likely because they view us an American army base. I'm not against NATO, but I think we would be mostly fine without it too.

NATO is to a large degree "USA with friends". An EU defence is looking more and more needed.

It's getting a bit off-topic but NATO without USA is still functional. The only serious threat in Europe would be from Russia, which can't even take on Ukraine. And again, it's far different from what EU is. USA deciding to ban X or enforce Y has no bearing on the other NATO members.