• by IPS Correspondents (oslo)
• Friday, November 25, 1994
• Inter Press Service

OSLO, Nov 25 (IPS) - Perched on the prow of his fishing boat filleting herrings for customers, Fred Bratlie says he fears an invasion of foreign trawlers if Norway joins the European Union in next week's referendum.

"They will come from all over Europe to take our fish," he said. "If these countries are allowed into our waters stocks will decline and our livelihoods will be endangered. My vote is 'No'," he said.

In the remote fishing villages dotted along the Scandinavian country's coastline there is talk of betrayal. Many of the country's 26,000 fishermen are afraid that EU membership will mean foreign fleets plundering the rich cod, haddock and herring stocks in Norway's rich fishing grounds.

In Oslo fjord, Bratlie's colleague Odd Kristiansen agrees. "I can't see any advantages. If we go in and we don't like it we have no right to pull out. It makes me uncomfortable."

Opposition to Norway's bid to join the union is not confined to fishermen. From Norway's arctic fjords and remote farming communities, to its oil-rich west coast and major towns, argument is raging over an issue which has polarised the country once before and is threatening to do so again.

Norwegians rejected membership of the then European Economic Community (EEC) in 1972 amid deep-rooted fears of relinquishing control over fish resources and the agricultural sector.

Twenty two years on, the same concerns look set to see the Scandinavian nation become the first country to repudiate membership of the European Union. Voting starts Sunday and is staggered over two days. Opinion polls indicate a clear 'No'.

Outside the cities there is a sense of foreboding as polling day approaches amid a widespread perception that Norway is applying to join an undemocratic and distant union where its voice will be lost among the likes of big countries like Germany, France and Britain.

Trond Thorheim and his family have been farming in the fertile lowlands of Blaker 50 kilometres to the north of Oslo for six centuries, but today the future is uncertain.

Surveying his snow-covered fields, Thorheim says the family tradition may end if Norway joins the EU and he may have to sell the 65 hectares of arable land and pasture to golf developers.

© Inter Press Service (2014) — All Rights Reserved. Original source: Inter Press Service

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