The main impacts of Norway being outside of the European Union

The main impacts of Norway being outside of the European Union (EU). In order to explain the impacts,understandin about how Norway is bound to the EU,reasons for staying outside and whether it will join the EU is of importance.
How is Norway bound to the EU
Norway is closely associated with the Union in its membership in the in the context of being a European Free Trade Association (EFTA) member and is not a member of the European Union (EU).In other words Norway is bound to the EU through two agreements, the Schengen Agreement and the EEA Agreement. In this case, it means that we as a nation are integrated in the EU in many ways.
The European Economic Area (EEA)
The European Economic Area (EEA) was established on 1 January 1994. Then follows an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) and the European Community and later the European Union (EU) was formed. It allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's single market. This is done without a conventional EU membership, but in exchange we are obliged to adopt all EU legislation related to the single market, except those pieces of legislation that relate to agriculture and fisheries.
Schengen Agreement
The Schengen Treaty was signed by Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg in June 1985 on the ship Princess Marie-Astrid "on the Moselle River near the village of Schengen in Luxembourg, by the French and German border. The purpose was to replace the border posts and border controls between the countries with external border controls. The five countries signed the Schengen agreement on 19 June 1990. It is now expanded to include 26 countries in Europe. Norway and other Nordic countries have been full members of Schengen cooperation since 25 March 2001.
Norway's association agreement with the Schengen agreement means that all EU countries (except Britain and Ireland) plus Iceland and Norway have a common border and that Norwegian citizens can travel pass freely throughout the Schengen area. Passport control in the inner limit is abolished.
The EU impacts to Norway
Norway being outside the EU has a variety of positive and negative effects for the country and Norwegian interests. In essence, it shows that the expansion has positive consequences for Norway, as for the rest of Europe. An extension of the internal market has led to closer cooperation between Norway and the new member countries in the areas covered by the EEA Agreement. EU enlargement mean increased competition for Norwegian industry, but also create new opportunities in the internal market expands.
However there are also some negative effects, especially with expansion of the EU. An enlarged EU will increasingly be a pan-European organization, which may make it easier to move expertise that has been in the international organizations under a less binding regime, under the European Union. Existing international organizations may lose importance in favor of the cooperation that takes place in the EU. This provides several examples. This kind of changes could weaken the Norwegian influence as a result of that we in the EU context does not participate when decisions are made, while international organizations have had full rights in decision-making processes. In other words, we must relate to the agreements without being able to have any influence or participate in making decisions that are important for Norway since we are not members of the EU.
“As the EU grows, the awareness of the EEA Agreement in the EU is declining and a more extensive effort is required to achieve the attention, both from the member states and the Commission” . Politicians and civil service job of profiling the EEA and find good solutions to safeguard Norwegian interests in the work of EEA-relevant regulations can be difficult in an enlarged EU. After the increase, the Norwegian industry formally have the same rights as businesses in member countries, but for that business to exploit new market opportunities that arise, there must exist a certain knowledge of the EEA Agreement in the candidate countries. An important challenge for the Norwegian authorities is to provide information on the EEA Agreement so that the rights and obligations arising from the agreement are complied with.
In addition, a new and enlarged EU give reason to consider whether efforts to influence the EEA-relevant decisions need to be adjusted to ensure that we utilize the channels we have to influence the best way possible. The strict requirements for candidate countries for full acceptance of the common rules could complicate any desire Norwegian adaptation schemes. There are some important exceptions of the expansion that will result in a deterioration in market access for Norwegian seafood, and in the energy sector the EU's interests are mainly consumer and import-oriented, while Norway's starting point is manufacturer and export interests. In addition, the enlargement of the EU creating challenges for our existing collaboration. The most obvious example of this is that the increase in the number of EU members would create an amplified imbalance in the relationship between the EEA / EFTA countries and the EU. It will generally be more difficult to create an understanding of these needs in a European Union consists of countries that are relatively more different from us than the existing member states.
EU enlargement implications for Norway, concludes that the problems that are particular to the EFTA countries in the EEA is primarily political and institutional nature. Businesses will face a major challenge in attempting to exploit the new market opportunities and Norway will face problems in some sectors. In an enlarged EU and the ongoing implementation and development of the EEA agreement continued, but the increase of EU membership will change the balance in relation to EEA / EFTA countries. It may be harder to get attention on "our" issues, and the dynamics of cooperation could change in a way that will also affect the EEA / EFTA countries. Several of these factors are less obvious today, but may become more visible over time.
Reasons to why Norway has not joined the EU
“Norway has applied twice to join the community, but has failed in its bid due to two national referendums, held in 1972, and again in 1994” Fontaine, Pascal, Europe in Ten Points (2nd Ed.), Office for Official Publications of the European Communities, Luxembourg, 1995, p. 46. It is true that “history and geography had combined to make no a natural reaction for many Norwegians” AIlen, Hilary, Norway and Europe in the 1970s, Universitetsforlaget, Oslo, 1979, p. 161. Norway is a nation which has been dominated by foreign powers for centuries, and holds its independence as of primary importance. Thus, the Norwegian people have shown to be very defensive in such matters.
Geographical position at the northern extreme of Europe has had a large impact on our reluctance to join the European Economic Community (EEC). Norway has always been in closer contact with the other Scandinavian countries and Great Britain, and as such has been more likely to cooperate with those nations as opposed to continental Europe. However, historical and geographical reasons have not been the only factors which led Norway to oppose membership but issues such as North Sea oil and the fishing industry have all played a role.
Why does this increasingly wealthy North European nation remained outside the fold at a time of broadening European integration? The answer to the question can be it is increasingly wealthy and does not need the EU, which is decreasingly wealthy. The opinion analysis show that, it is intimately linked to the broad feeling here that oil rich, high growth Norway does not need an economically stumbling European club.
Norway has chosen to stand on its own until now, only the future will tell if Norway will join the European Union. To stand outside suggests that there will be both negative and positive impacts for Norway in the same way as it would have been if Norway was a member.

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