Integrating an Outsider: An EU Perspective on Relations with Norway

Through a dense network of agreements covering a wide range of policy areas, the multilayered association between the EU and Norway has led to a high degree of integration that, at least in substantive terms, brings Norway close to EU membership.

Viewed as an effective tool for EU norm projection and a vector of generous external support for the Union policies at a relatively modest institutional cost, the specific EU Norway formula of integration without membership, with the EEA as its cornerstone, is often referred to by the Union as a template for the development of its neighbourhood policy. Several factors, not least the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon, have, however, led the Union to call for a review of that formula, with a view to crafting a new 'comprehensive approach'.

This article locates the specific EU-Norway arrangement in the broader context of the Union's relations with its European neighbours. In particular, it attempts to expose the main driving force of the EU's policy towards states in its vicinity and how Norway fits into the wider process of European integration, as seen from the Union. It then analyses the main challenges to the current EU-Norway arrangement from an EU perspective and discusses how those could be addressed.