One in three Norwegians would have voted yes to Norwegian EU membership. For the first time, the EEA opposition is below twenty percent.

The figures from Sentio, on behalf of the Nation and Class Struggle, are part of a trend that has been seen for some time: The EEA agreement has high support among most people. At the same time, more and more people are positive about Norwegian membership of the EU.

Tallenes speech

In the latest survey, 65.1 percent say yes to the EEA Agreement, and just 19.4 percent say no. Also when you look at all the provinces separately, as well as the city/country breakdown, there is a clear majority in favour of the agreement, in all groups.

There are also changes in the view of Norwegian EU membership. The proportion who would vote yes to EU membership rises to 34.1 per cent. The No share drops to 54.1 percent.

Broad cross-party support

That 72-90 percent of AP, Høyre, KrF, Venstre, and MDG voters say yes to the EEA agreement may not come as a shock to anyone, but it is worth noting that the agreement is also popular further out on the left.

Among SW voters, a whopping 72 percent – more than two out of three – say yes to the EEA, and only 12 percent say no. This is despite the fact that the party itself is highly critical of the EEA. Even Red voters are divided, although the party wants to protect everything that has its roots in EU cooperation. 40 percent of Red voters say yes to the EEA agreement, and 39 percent no.

A new debate on the way?

The arrows are pointing in the right direction. They have been for some time. With an indisputable majority in favour of the EEA Agreement – and more and more people assessing full Norwegian membership – it is easy to see that in the future we will put aside the EEA debate and replace it with an EU debate.

In the European Movement, we naturally want even more people to see the positive sides of Norwegian EU membership, and we are very positive about the prospects for the future.

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