With the admission of ten additional countries to the European Union in May 2004, the consequences of being a non-member European state are growing. Though Norway has rejected referendums that propose EU entry several times, Norwegians are becoming increasingly aware of the limitations of their influence in European affairs. Their government has a very small voice in constructing EU policies that ultimately matter greatly to Norway.

In fact, Norway follows most EU policies, but through external and convoluted mechanisms. With growing integration of the European Union, Norway’s undesirable position of following one step behind has become painfully obvious. Ultimately, Norway must join the European Union to obtain a stronger voice in formulating the decisions that affect the nation.

Norway has long considered the question of becoming a member of the European Union; voters rejected membership in separate referendums in 1972 and 1994, despite strong government support for membership. After the defeat of the most recent referendum, the government announced that it would not have another initiative for ten years. The question is now on the table once more.

Norway has become more closely oriented toward the European Union over the past years, even participating in certain EU initiatives, such as the EU mission to Bosnia. Its formal alliance with the European Union comes from the European Economic Agreement (EEA) instituted in 1994. Through the channel of EEA debates, Norway informally implements EU policy. One of Norway’s top priorities between 2002 and 2004 was to enlarge EEA-EU relations, culminating in the EEA Enlargement Agreement that took effect on May 1, 2004, and promised a new role for Norway in the European internal market. Through this relationship, Norway now participates in EU programs in the fields of education, environment, and research; it is as involved in European policy as a non-EU country can be. However, many question the sustainability of the EEA in the face of growing pressure to join the European Union.

Internationally, it continues to try to build a place for itself among major superpowers. It has mediated between Israel and the Palestinian Liberation Organization, as well as between the Sri Lankan government and its Tamil separatists. On October 15, 2004, Norway pledged to donate 10 million NOK (approximately US$1.5 million) to the European Union to help reduce the economic discrepancies between the new and the old members. In return, the European Union allowed the entrance of Norwegian exports and industries to EU states. Indeed, presently, Norway could not be in a better position to enter. In September 2004, after an amicable meeting with Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik, German Chancellor Gerhard Schroder announced that he would like to see Norway as part of the European Union.

Not all Norwegians, however, are as optimistic. September 2004 polls show that 41 percent of Norwegians are opposed to joining the European Union, while 38 percent are in favor, and 20 percent are undecided. Nine of the ten countries that joined the European Union earlier in May held referendums on the topic, and the average in favor of joining was 78 percent, almost twice the percentage of those in favor in Norway. Norwegians value tradition very highly and tend to be isolationist, but there is nevertheless a strong pressure to modernize.

Particularly since the Center-Right Party took over in 2001, ousting the Labour Party in its worst defeat in 90 years, Norwegians have been highly wary of new goals on the political agenda. They fear that joining the European Union could cut back on advances in public services, lower taxes, and more efficient allocation of oil revenue to pay for such services.

The signs point to the eventual membership of Norway in the European Union. Norway’s relatively weak influence on the continent, the unnecessary role of the EEA in bridging Norwegian and European policy, and Norway’s citizens’ need to modernize all demonstrate that joining the European Union is a matter of time. Moreover, Norway certainly has the administrative infrastructure to transition to EU membership. Norway still implements most EU policy through the EEA, yet it does not have the ability to create such policy within the European Union. Time is passing quickly, and it behooves the Norwegian government to address this topic soon before it loses its policy-making sovereignty to an institution in which Norway’s voice, by Norwegians’ own free will, is not represented.