Oil-rich Norwegians turn their backs on EU
OSLO (AFP) - Eurozone public debt crisis -- especially in Greece -- and the economic tensions makes less than one third of Norwegians favour joining the European Union.
• 'Norway is doing well' Finance Minister said
Less than one third of Norwegians favour joining the European Union, a survey published Tuesday showed, as the debt crisis in Greece and other EU countries dominated headlines.Only 32.3 percent of oil-rich Norway's inhabitants favour EU membership, while 55 percent are opposed and 12.7 percent are undecided, according to a poll by the Norstat institute for public broadcaster NRK.
The figures were in line with a similar Norstat survey published last month by NRK, which showed 30.6 percent of Norwegians favoured entering the EU, 55.8 percent were against and 13,6 percent undecided.
"It is clear that what is currently happening in Europe has caught Norwegians' attention," Heming Olaussen, who heads the No to EU organisation, told NRK.
The public debt crisis, especially in Greece, and the economic tensions in the rest of Europe have dominated headlines in recent weeks.
Norstat conducted the survey of 969 people from April 27 to May 3 -- before a 750-billion-euro rescue package for the crisis-hit euro countries was announced on Monday.
"This is exactly the kind of crisis the EU was created to resolve," Paal Frisvold, head of pro-European movement Europabevegelsen, told NRK.
Norway rejected EU membership in referendums in 1972 and 1994.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 11 May 2010 15:03)
