Seven people out of ten said “No” to the country’s accession to the EU. This is confirmed by results of a recent survey conducted by Sentio, writes Aftenposten. Only 19,2 percent is supporting the accession of Norway to the EU.
Norwegians are afraid of losing their independence, which was acquired later than many other Western European countries. Norway was part of the Kalmar union with Sweden and Denmark from 1397 by 1536, and then until 1814 was in union with Denmark only. In the 1814 Constitution was proclaimed in the country, however Norway was forced to be in a personal union with Sweden until 1905.
Possible loss of sovereignty is the main reason for the reluctance of Norwegians to join the EU. The biggest concern coming from entry into the EU is taking of important sectors of the economy under the control of the transition by the European Centre, in particular, fisheries and agriculture.
In 1972 at the referendum 46.5% of Norwegians vs. 53.5% supported joining the EU. At the next referendum held in 1994, again only 47.8% of the population of Norway was “for” and 52.2% was “against”.