I think an EU membership will only happen in Norway when the old generations die out, the yes/no divide is a big generational thing. Even though the latest poll only shows a six percent difference between yes/no, it's only as high as it is now because of the current political situation with trade wars and actual wars. Any vote now for a membership will only happen when a party knows the yes side will win, doing otherwise will postpone the vote another thirty years again. Personally I think we should join the EU, we're already heavily tangled with EU laws and regulations, but I understand the concerns for our agriculture and fishing industries.
That would make Brexit even more of a tragic joke than it already is. Norway was the prime example of how countries thrive outside the EU. When endlessly deliberating on what kind of relationship Britain wants with the EU, "Norway+" was one of the nauseatingly-often repeated chants, only to be discarded for something far looser.<p>And now the "Norway+" OG wants in... maybe.
I’m as pro-EU as they come, but if Brexit taught me one thing, it’s: when you make decisions like this, you need a stable popular majority. Otherwise the “fool all the people some of the time” crowd will see an opportunity.
<i>>Context: Western Europe’s biggest oil and gas producer has twice rejected joining the EU in referendums in 1972 and 1994</i><p>If people rejected it twice already, I have no idea what can change their mind to join the shitshow the EU is today. And the article provides no details on why the Norwegian people would change their mind this time if given a vote in a referendum.<p>Especially that they already have a lot of the benefits of the EU such as free trade, free movement, and access to the common market but without the political interference of the EU over their environmental, fishing and oil industries and immigration policies (and we all saw how "competent" the EU is at such policies). And they're already part of NATO so they have defense covered too.<p>It's more important for them that they keep their sovereignty and not hand it to corrupt unelected bureaucrats from Brussels like Ursula v.d. Leyen or to whoever is gonna replace her.