The EU asks Norway to show more solidarity and increase its financial contributions

Brussels (NTB): The EU Commission has asked Norway to show more solidarity with poor European countries and increase its financially contributions to the European Economic Area (EEA).

Last Friday the EU Commission started formal negotiations with the three EEA countries, Norway, Lichtenstein and Iceland about their financial obligations as signatories of the EEA agreement.

Head of the Commission, Alan Seatter, believes that increases in the financial contributions from the three countries, which are used to eliminate the social and economic differences within the EU, are needed more than ever. This has prompted the Commission to ask for a substantial increase of the annual Norwegian contribution, which at the moment is NOK 2 billion.

- The contributions have to be increased due to the new challenges faced, but also because the demand for funds is bigger than it used to be, and this will ensure that the money will be spent wisely, Seatter told Norwegian news agency, NTB.

The annual EEA contributions were increased by 1000 percent with the latest EU expansion, but Seater points out that the economic gap between the poor and the wealthy areas of the EU is still at 40 percent.

- The fact of the matter is that the challenges are increasing and not diminishing. How are we expected to respond to those challenges if we lower the financial contributions from the membership countries? It’s time to show solidarity, Seater says.

Source: NTB

Also read: http://thenorwaymail.blogspot.com/2008/09/30-percent-of-annual-norwegian-eu.html