NORWAY
Changes to the UK Norway relationship are inevitable but hardly insurmountable
Brexit offers more opportunities than challenges The solid ties between Norway and the UK will provide a healthy foundation for the two countries’ relationship from January 2021. A free trade agreement cannot match the EEA agreement Norway is party to the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement (the UK as an EU Member State was too), which subjects a signatory to the rights and obligations of the European single market including the four freedoms of the internal market (free movement of goods, people, services and capital) and is more comprehensive than a free trade agreement (FTA). An FTA between the
UK and Norway, said Wegger Chr. Strømmen, Norway’s ambassador to the UK, will not offer the same degree of coverage as the EEA agreement. While it can be hoped that many elements of the EEA agreement will be included in the deal Norway and the UK agree on, Norwegians must prepare for change come 1 January 2021 irrespective of the agreement the UK signs with the EU. The outcome of the EU-UK negotiations will influence our
Seafish, www.seafish.org
partners, absorbing exports worth NOK184bn and the source of NOK38bn worth of imports in 2019. Renate Larsen, managing director of the Norwegian Seafood Council calls the UK one of Norway’s most important seafood markets. Although the UK left the EU on 31 January 2020, the transition period for Brexit which expired on 31 December 2020 ensured that relations between the UK and Norway remained largely the same as they were while Britain was part of the bloc.
Salmon, cod, and haddock form the bulk of Norway’s seafood exports to the UK, a trade that should continue under the current interim agreement and the expected free trade deal between the two countries.
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Jean Gaumy/Norwegian Seafood Council
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ewspapers are full of the ongoing negotiations between the EU and the UK regarding Brexit. However, other countries will also be affected by the provisions of the deal between the two partners. Innovation Norway organised a recent seminar on how Brexit is likely to impact the relationship between Norway and the UK and how companies can prepare for these new circumstances. The UK is among Norway’s closest allies in Europe and one of Norway’s major trading
