EUR3414 Norway’s relations with the EU in times of change

Norway’s European policy is based on a large number of agreements of which the 1992 EEA Agreement is the most well-known. Due to Norway's strong dependence on trade with EU countries, the EEA Agreement, which makes Norway part of the EU internal marked, is generally also considered as the most important of these agreements. Today, Norway is actively seeking to expand its participation in various EU collaborations. The situation reflects fundamental changes, both within the EU and in the world outside. Against a backdrop of war and crises, the EU continues to develop new policies. The climate crisis, the Covid pandemic, the Eurozone crisis, and the energy crisis are examples of challenges that in recent years have led to new European policies. Russia's war in Ukraine has accelerated the focus on security and defense, and with the recognition that the era of globalization is over, competitiveness has emerged as a key priority. In this context, EU enlargement policy has also gained new relevance and justifications. "In a world where size and weight matters", the President of the European Commission said when arguing the need for a successful vision of another Eastern enlargement in her 2023 State of the Union address, "it is clearly in Europe's strategic and security interests to complete our Union". The question we will explore in this course is what the new developments, both inside and outside the EU, mean for Norway's relationship with the European Union. How do we navigate our relationship as a non-member, and what opportunities and limitations does it offer in a world that looks fundamentally different from the world as it looked when the EEA Agreement was signed?

The module responds to the strong demand from society and professionals for up-to-date knowledge and expertise on Norway's association with the EU in key policy areas, including climate, health, security and defense, energy, trade, and industrial development. After more than three decades of being linked to the EU via the EEA Agreement, Norway’s relationship with the EU is a textbook example of what is referred to in the academic literature as external differentiated integration (EDI). The module provides perspectives on Norway's relationship with the EU by comparing it with other forms of cooperation between the EU and third countries, and it offers theoretical tools to help you analyze and understand European integration today.