After a no in the referendums in 1972 and 1994, opposition to full membership in the union is still strong.
According to the survey Norstat has carried out for NRK, 52 per cent of those questioned would have voted no to Norwegian membership if there had been an EU referendum tomorrow.
27 percent say they would have voted yes, while 21 percent say they would not have voted.
If we only include those who say they would have voted in a referendum, according to Norstat, this poll would have given an estimated 66.2 per cent no and 33.8 per cent yes in an actual election.
– This debate has started at the wrong end, namely from the top. It’s not a popular demand, to put it mildly, says SV’s Ingrid Fiskaa in Debatten on Thursday evening.
Høgre opens for new EU fight
Senior leader Erna Solberg used parts of her speech at the national meeting last weekend to try to revive the Norwegian EU debate. She said that the relationship between Norway and the EU is becoming increasingly important, and that Norway should become a member.
– Norway’s place in Europe is at the table. Together with our closest friends. Along with the other democracies, she said.
At Høgre’s national meeting last weekend, Erna Solberg emphasized that Norway’s relationship with the EU will become more important in the future – and advocated that Norway should be a member.
Photo: Helge Tvedten / NRK
Solberg received support from foreign policy spokesperson Ine Eriksen Søreide, who asked the government to figure out full EU membership.
– An incredible amount has happened in the world and in the EU which means that we have to rethink how we are going to protect Norwegian interests, says Søreide.
The EU is becoming an increasingly important arena for security policy. Søreide indicates that Norway is joining EU sanctions against Russia – sanctions Norway cannot participate in from the inside.
Both the Center Party and the Progress Party are lukewarm to a new EU fight now. SP leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum fears a strong Høgre will lead to a new round about the EU after the next parliamentary election in 2025.
In the area of security, both he and parliamentary representative Hans Andreas Limi (Frp) counter that important allies such as the USA and Great Britain are not EU members.
– Our major security guarantee is NATO, and the Norwegian people’s government is very keen not to join the EU, says Vedum.
Fiskaa adds that many already feel that it is too far from power and that it is too difficult to influence.
– A membership will only strengthen this many times over, she believes.
– We believe that decisions concerning Norway should be taken in the Storting – not Brussels, adds Limi.
Miljørørsla was part of the no side in 1994, but now the MDG national board is in favor of EU membership through a referendum. Storting representative Lan Marie Berg was seven years old at the time and believes it is time for a new debate at a time when the world and the Union look different.
– It is better that we are inside to influence what ends up affecting us anyway, Berg believes.
Also Kristine Meek Stokke, leader of European Youth, points out that in the current situation a number of decisions are already being adopted on our behalf in Brussels.
– We will have more influence than today, at least, says Stokke.
– That’s right, but what we give from us is more important, says Frankie Solberg Rød, leader of Youth against the EU.
He refers to the room for action Norway currently has outside the EU in areas such as fisheries, agriculture, foreign policy and monetary policy.
Young people most insecure
The survey shows that men are more EU-sceptical than women. 57 percent of men say they would vote no, while 47 percent of women say the same.
If we look at the age distribution among those who have answered, most would have voted no in all age groups, apart from those over 80. Here, 59 percent would have voted yes, while 34 percent would have voted no. This is also the age group with the fewest answers.
The figures also show that it is those under 30 who are most uncertain about the EU issue. 35 percent of these say they would not have voted if there was a vote tomorrow. Among those who had decided and wanted to vote, 37 percent answered that they would have voted no, while 28 percent would have answered yes.
