Two Comments on the Nordic Countries and Western European Economic Integration
| Author | Kaare Sandegren |
| Published date | 01 July 1969 |
| Date | 01 July 1969 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/001083676900400204 |
Two
Comments
on
the
Nordic
Countries
and
Western
European
Economic
Integration
Kaare
Sandegren
1.
In
the
article
by
Halle
Jom
Hans-
sen
and
myself
in
Cooperation
and
Conflict,
No. 1,
1969,
’Norway
and
Western
European
Integration’,
on
page
60
we
have
written:
The
majority
view
of
foreign
policy
formulators
in
Norway
is
that
Norwegian
membership
in
the
EEC
without
Great
Britain
is
not
in
our
interest,
if
not
for
trade
reasons,
then
for
political
and
security
reasons.
Thus,
an
initiative
on
the
part
of
Norway
for
membership
without
Great
Britain,
even
together
with
Denmark
(and
Sweden),
does
not
seem
likely.
The
possibility
that
such
an
initiative
may
cause
Great
Britain
to
increase
further
her
interest
in
moving
closer
to
Europe
or
in
membership
in
the
EEC,
is
given
little
importance.
In
any
case,
an
initiative
vis-~-vis
the
Market
with
Sweden
and
Denmark
at
the
present
time
is
made
difficult
by
the
Swedish
desire
for
an
association,
not
membership,
and
perhaps
because
the
admission
of
Denmark,
with
its
agri-
cultural
production,
without
the
British
market
as
a
counterweight,
may
not
be
welcomed
by
the
agricultural
community
of
the
Market.
The
remark
on
the
Swedish
attitude
was
written
under
the
impression
of
the
attitude
of
Sweden
during
1968.
How-
ever,
in
that
year
and
in
1969,
the
Swedish
attitude
has
distinguished
itself
by
an
augmented
emphasis
on
membership
rather
than
association.
The
Swedish
Minister
of
Trade,
Mr.
Gunnar
Lange,
suggested
in
the
Swedish
Parliament
in
December
1968
that
the
Swedish
Government
could
be
inter-
ested
in
membership,
because
develop-
ments
may
result
in
EEC
limiting
itself
to
be
an
organization
exclusively
for
economic
cooperation.
It
would
seem
to
me
that
Sweden
is
interested
in
and
ready
to
accept
membership
provided
that
her
policy
of
neutrality
can
be
maintained.
To
establish
whether
the
circumstances
permit
this
would,
pre-
sumably,
be
a
Swedish
privilege.
In
the
article
we
made
the
point
that
an
initiative
vis-A-vis
the
EEC
on
the
part
of
Norway
together
with
Denmark
and
Sweden
but
without
Great
Britain
does
not
seem
likely.
We
characterized
a
majority
view
in
Norway
to
be
that
Norwegian
membership
in
the
EEC
without
Great
Britain
is
not
in
Nor-
way’s
interest,
if
not
for
trade
reasons,
then
for
political
and
security
reasons.
The
evidence
of
a
change
in
the
Swedish
attitude,
towards
greater
in-
terest
in
membership,
does
not
seem
to
warrant
reconsideration
of
this
point.
Whether
increased
economic
cooper-
ation
between
the
Nordic
countries,
in
practice,
together
with
new
and
unexpected
developments
as
a
result
of
changed
French
attitudes,
may
result
in
further
evolution
in
Norwegian
and
Nordic
attitudes,
remains
to
be
seen.
2.
I
note
that
the
date
of
the
mandate
from
the
Nordic
Prime
Ministers
for
deliberations
on
extended
Nordic
economic
cooperation
has
been
given
as
3
April
1967.
It
should
be
23
April
1968.
(Summer
1969)
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