"The EEA Agreement is our gateway to Europe, into European cooperation. The Agreement gives us the opportunity to solve shared problems, meet shared challenges and promote our fundamental interests and values," said the Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs at The European Movement's council meeting in Oslo in April.
23/05/2006 :: Below follows an excerpt of Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre's address to the European Movement in Norway (an organisation devoted to working for a close and binding partnership between European countries, and for Norwegian membership in the EU) on 1 April 2006.
Norwegian Minister of Foreign Affairs Jonas Gahr Støre:
"Few countries are so closely interlinked with Europe as we are. There is almost full agreement in Norway that we should pursue an active European policy, despite the fact that in both the referendums on the EU, the Norwegian people turned down membership.
You who are part of the European Movement strove for a different result at both these crossroads. I did too through my vote. But we are so deeply committed to European democratic ideals that the decision was based on the will of the people.
The pro-EU side has never questioned this principle. But it doesn't mean that we don't need an active European policy; that is not an option for a country with the interests and geographical position that Norway has.
And so let us turn to our daily lives in Norway today, and the question I have chosen as the title for my address—and this isn't an April Fool's Day joke either – Does the EEA Agreement give leeway for an active European policy?
My answer is yes. And I will explain why."
Please click here for the whole address (available in English and Norwegian).
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs