Bush Reelection Could Reopen Norway's EU Debate, PM Says

Norway's prime minister said Wednesday that George W. Bush's reelection could revive the question of Norwegian EU membership, a step the country has turned down in two referendums.

Kjell Magne Bondevik, who campaigned against joining in the 1994 vote, argued that a growing divide between the United States and Europe would push many Europeans, himself included, toward deeper continental cooperation on foreign policy and security. Norway, a NATO member, rejected EU accession first in 1972 and again in 1994.

Bondevik also suggested a more hopeful path. Relieved of re-election pressures, Bush could spend a second term mending relations with Europe, the prime minister said, adding that Washington had learned from Iraq the value of strong European partners.

"I hope Bush will put more emphasis on international cooperation," he said. Norway had opposed Bush's decisions on Iraq, the Kyoto Protocol, and the International Criminal Court, and Bondevik said Oslo would continue raising such disagreements openly, while declining to say whether he was personally pleased with the election outcome.

Historical summary. TurkishPress restated this AFP wire report, first published in November 2004, in its own words.