Post by Logan on Jun 1, 2016 0:42:21 GMT -6
STAVANGER, Norway (AP) — Ahead of a June 23 referendum on whether to quit the European Union, Britons are looking across the North Sea to Norway for clues on what life could be like outside the bloc.
The oil-rich Norwegians clearly have done OK. A free-trade deal ensures they enjoy almost the same access to the union's giant market as had they been EU members. But to keep those trade ties smooth, Norway has had to adopt most EU directives, without having a say when they were decided in Brussels.
Here's a look at the advantages and disadvantages Norway has faced from staying outside the union.
___
TRADE
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein belong to a small club of non-members that enjoy access to the EU's huge single market, because they have signed up to the European Economic Area agreement. The relationship is economically fruitful: Some 84 percent of Norwegian exports go to the EU, and 62 percent of its imports are from the bloc.
For Britain to join this club, however, it would have to accept four EU-style freedoms: free movement of goods, services, people and capital. Also, Norway implements more than three-quarters of all EU laws without having a formal way of influencing how they're drafted.
Read more: www.sfgate.com/news/article/What-UK-can-learn-from-Norway-as-it-weighs-life-7956020.php
The oil-rich Norwegians clearly have done OK. A free-trade deal ensures they enjoy almost the same access to the union's giant market as had they been EU members. But to keep those trade ties smooth, Norway has had to adopt most EU directives, without having a say when they were decided in Brussels.
Here's a look at the advantages and disadvantages Norway has faced from staying outside the union.
___
TRADE
Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein belong to a small club of non-members that enjoy access to the EU's huge single market, because they have signed up to the European Economic Area agreement. The relationship is economically fruitful: Some 84 percent of Norwegian exports go to the EU, and 62 percent of its imports are from the bloc.
For Britain to join this club, however, it would have to accept four EU-style freedoms: free movement of goods, services, people and capital. Also, Norway implements more than three-quarters of all EU laws without having a formal way of influencing how they're drafted.
Read more: www.sfgate.com/news/article/What-UK-can-learn-from-Norway-as-it-weighs-life-7956020.php