Norway has a very particular relationship with the European Union. The country has strong economic and cultural ties to the rest of the continent and yet still ceases to seek full membership more than three decades after the referendum. But why? The answer (unsurprisingly, if you’ve listened to my recent interview with Bjorn Djupevag, the curator of the Bergen Fiskerimuseum) is fish. Specifically the EU fishing quotas which the country would have to abide by if they were a member. 

As I’m sure you know, fish is incredibly important to the Norwegian people, it is a staple of their national identity and they take sovereignty over the industry very seriously.

History plays an integral part in the country’s  hesitation towards losing sovereignty. The history of Norway is a history of oppression, lack of power and exploitation from its neighbors; the country spent half of the previous millennium as a part of Denmark and then Sweden, only gaining full independence at the beginning of the previous century. When we also add the fact that the German merchants from the Hanseatic League took over a segment of the city of Bergen, and more importantly created a monopoly over pricing and distribution of stockfish, (the city’s most valuable export at the time), it makes sense that the Norwegian people are naturally more skeptical about giving up their own sovereignty so easily. 

This question of sovereignty is not just something which has been decided by the Norwegian political establishment, but is a question which has been presented to the Norwegian people multiple times in the previous century. The two key moments in which this was done were in 1972 and 1994, in both these instances the question of further European integration was posed. In 1972 the people voted 53.3% against joining the EEC and in 1994 they voted 52.2% against joining the EU. 

Timeline of Norwegian governments and their positioning in relation to full EU membership:

More than 3 decades on and this sentiment remains prominent amongst the people of Norway, although it should be pointed out that public opinion is slowly beginning to shift more favourably towards membership. 

Opinion poll from February 2026 of Norwegian citizen’s stance on joining the EU:

Even though this shift in public opinion is beginning to gain traction, the likelihood is that Norway will remain a friendly outsider to the EU, the country is too apprehensive to give up its sovereignty that they spend hundreds of years fighting the Danish, Swedish and the German Hanseatic merchants for. The opinion of many Norwegians is that they get the best of both worlds from their current deal, they get access to the European market without the burden of full political membership. 

To hear about the importance of the ocean and fishing to Norway, listen to my interview with Bjorn Djupevag bellow: