EU looks more attractive in Donald Trump’s ‘crazy world’, says Norway

{"text":[[{"start":7.8,"text":"The “crazy world” shaped by US President Donald Trump and China is prompting Norway to reassess its relationship with the EU after two failed attempts to join the bloc. "}],[{"start":19.05,"text":"The continent’s leading oil and gas producer is part of the EU’s single market but it remains outside the bloc after voting “No” to accession in the 1970s and the 1990s. Norwegians opposed membership because of a perception that their fishing industry would be at a disadvantage if ruled by Brussels. Seafood is Norway’s largest export sector after fossil fuels."}],[{"start":43.25,"text":"“We said no in 1972 because of fish and again in 1994, it was very much about fish. Fish and agriculture,” foreign minister Espen Barth Eide told the FT. Those issues became so divisive that they “broke up marriages and families”, leaving Norwegians with “PTSD”, he said. "}],[{"start":65.6,"text":"EU diplomats believe the US president has provided the necessary shock for Norway to wake up to the benefits of membership — ranging from trade to security and defence."}],[{"start":75.94999999999999,"text":"Eide acknowledged that the “benign world”, which existed when the two accession referendums were held, had been replaced by a “crazy world” forcing Oslo to review its relations with the bloc. "}],[{"start":86.74999999999999,"text":"“When we joined the European Economic Area, we joined the new hot thing, which was the single market,” Eide said. “Fast forward 30 years, that benign world is gone and we need to be honest about being in a more difficult situation,” he said. “The parts of the EU that we decided not to join are becoming more important.”"}],[{"start":107.19999999999999,"text":"The US tariff wars have highlighted Norway’s awkward position, as the country is part of the single market but has no say in trade talks with Washington, which are carried out by the European Commission."}],[{"start":117.99999999999999,"text":"Eide, who previously was Norway’s climate minister, said Norwegians needed to confront how much Europe had changed since 1994. "}],[{"start":126.34999999999998,"text":"“This crazy world out there, with what’s happening with China and the US, is forcing the EU to grab tools from a toolbox that was not so active,” he said, referring to trade policy and the customs union. “Exactly the tools we decided not to join.”"}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":142.04999999999998,"text":"Norway is a Nato member but Trump’s push to assert control over Greenland — a semi-autonomous territory of fellow Nato ally Denmark — has sparked fears in Oslo about US security guarantees that have underpinned the continent’s defence since the second world war. Norway is also concerned about the future of Svalbard, its Arctic island coveted by Russia."}],[{"start":165.2,"text":"The EU’s increased focus on defence and security since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has made the bloc more attractive, not just to Norway but to other single market and Nato members such as Iceland. The north Atlantic island Trump repeatedly mixed up with Greenland is holding a referendum in August on reopening membership talks."}],[{"start":185.5,"text":"The EU has suggested Iceland could receive a carve-out on fishing policy as it seeks to encourage new members to join."}],[{"start":193.15,"text":"Eide said any favourable deal for Reykjavik would be closely watched in Norway. “When it comes to Iceland, it is significant for us . . . We need to follow this closely.”"}],[{"start":203.65,"text":"“We see a development in the fishing industry, which is watching what will happen if Iceland is allowed a good outcome on fish,” he said. “That might influence the mood.”"}],[{"start":213.8,"text":"Jonas Gahr Støre, Norway’s prime minister, told foreign reporters in Oslo that if Iceland joined the EU it would “make an impression in Norway”, though he added that Sweden and Finland joining in 1994 had not swayed Norwegians. “This is not decided by countries outside Norway,” he stressed. "}],[{"start":233.85000000000002,"text":"While heavyweights such as Støre and Eide want Norway to join the EU, their Labour Party does not want to call for a new referendum imminently, as opinion polls show most voters would still reject membership of the bloc."}],[{"start":247.00000000000003,"text":"Norway’s oil and gas wealth had shaped many individuals’ sense of independence, Eide said. “There is a perception of economic independence that contributes to a sense of power,” he said."}],[{"start":256.95000000000005,"text":"“If there was a referendum tomorrow I would vote yes . . . but that’s not the same as saying now is the moment to actually ask for a referendum,” Eide said. For now, he said, there was a need “to be honest about the shortcomings of our current set-up”. "}],[{"start":271.45000000000005,"text":"Additional reporting by Richard Milne in Oslo"}],[{"start":282.1,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780296089_8522.mp3"}