Trygve Slagsvold Vedum accuses the Liberal Party of “pure deception” about the EU

Nobody Odd Einar Dørum finds comfort in the fact that the landmark EU decision of the Liberal Party presupposes good deals for Norwegian fisheries and agriculture. But this is simply “nonsense,” says the SP leader.

The national meeting of the Liberal Party decided on Sunday that the party believes Norway should in the long run “participate in the democratic institutions of the EU through EU membership”..

The non-man Odd Einar Dørum emphasizes that he can live with the decision, because the decision states that Norway “in the long run” should become a member.

It also attaches great importance to the party agreeing that good solutions must be found for the fisheries and agriculture sector and that “a separate assessment is made of any entry into the eurozone”.

– For me it is crucial that the issue is decided in a referendum. If it comes tomorrow, I’ll say no. I will be committed to the yes side by losing for the third time, he says.

The former leader and minister of the party will thus fight against the new leadership of the party if the issue becomes relevant. So far there is little indication of that.

The Labor Party has toned down its commitment to itself, and the FRP has become a clear non-party. Only conservatives and liberals now clearly state that they believe Norway should become a member of the EU.

– Pure deception

Center Party leader Trygve Slagsvold Vedum believes that the reservations Dørum consoles himself with are worthless. He has no faith that Norway can negotiate good solutions for fisheries and agriculture.

– It’s silly. You know, we tested it in 1994. This is just rhetoric, he says.

It refers to how then-Fisheries Minister Jan Henry T. Olsen (Labor Party) was dubbed “No Fish Olsen” when in fisheries negotiations with the EU he said that Norway had no fish to give away in negotiations, without winning.

He, Gro Harlem Brundtland and Jonas Gahr Støre tried to negotiate agreements on the matter. But they did not. The common agricultural policy is the essence of the EU. If Norway becomes a member of the EU, we will give up our right to self-determination over our fisheries resources and our food policy, says Vedum.

He adds:

– It is an honest question if the Liberal Party wants to close large business sectors in Norway, but the opposite cannot be claimed. It will be pure deception.

He also does not believe that Norway can maintain its own currency as a member of the EU.

– Is the EU country Sweden outside the eurozone, then?

– Sweden became a member in 1994, before the eurozone existed. It was a different time. Now the euro is part of the package, Vedum responds.

Believe the Liberal Party is failing in its legacy

Vedum talks warmly and for a long time about how valuable it is for Norway to have its own crown. When the oil industry struggles, the crown weakens. It then automatically provides traction assistance to the onshore export industry.

We will lose this favorable economic dynamic if Norway becomes part of the EU, he warns.

– But it is necessary to restructure the oil industry. Won’t the Norwegian economy be more similar to the EU economies?

– We must not fool ourselves. Although the Norwegian economy is changing, Johan Sverdrup’s new field will be in operation for 50 years. The oil industry will continue to be important to Norway, Vedum responds.

The SP leader maintains that the Norwegian economy will be heavily based on commodities in the future, completely independent of the oil industry. He cites minerals, forests and fishing as examples.

He also believes that with the decision, the Liberal Party is now betraying its legacy as the party of the people’s government.

– It is quite far from the people of Finnmark for the government of Oslo, if we are not going to also transfer power to a bureaucratic elite in Brussels, he says.