Norway should avoid reconsidering potential membership in the European Union at a time of rising geopolitical tensions because of the risk of sowing more divisions in society, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre said in an interview with Bloomberg, UNN reports.
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"The EU is very important politically, and we would like to strive for a very close partnership with them, but Norway has tried to join twice," Støre told Bloomberg in an interview in Oslo on Friday, referring to past referendums.
"It's a very controversial and polarizing issue, and I think these times we're going through now are not the times when we should be looking for polarization," he said.
Støre, who has repeatedly stated that he personally supports joining, also noted that joining the alliance would not solve Norway's security problems. These fears have intensified across Europe, as US President Donald Trump has made it clear that he prefers to reduce the US role in protecting European NATO members, the newspaper writes.
"If we started to open these questions about membership now, the question would be what answers it would give," Støre said. - "The defense of Europe is not the EU, it is NATO.
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The Nordic country - Western Europe's largest energy exporter - has access to the single market through the European Economic Area agreement, and a $1.8 trillion sovereign wealth fund helps it get financial support to stay outside the EU. The next general election is scheduled for September 8.
Norwegian citizens who said "no" to full membership in referendums in 1972 and 1994 have shown hesitation about joining. The most recent poll, conducted by Opinion in February, found that 53% opposed accession, up from 47% in a poll by the Sentio polling company last November - the lowest level since 2009.