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20th Mar 2023

Norway main contributor to new EU member states

Norway will be an important financial supporter of enlargement which takes place in May this year.

Norway, which is not actually a member of the European Union, is to pay 205.8 million euro in annual contributions for the 10 new EU member states.

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This is due to an European Economic Area (EEA) agreement which gives Norway access to sell products within the Internal Market but also obliges the country to pay a contribution to the EU structural funds.

By comparison, Sweden is to pay only 64-84 million euro per year and the Danes 19-25 million euro, reports Norwegian daily Nationen.

Per inhabitant Norway is to contribute 137.2 euro per citizen to enlargement, while the Germans are to pay 18.60 euro per citizen, the French 10.20 euro, Italians 14.0 euro, the Dutch 46.9 euro and the British 17.7 euro.

Norway to pay more for EU market access

Non-EU members Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway will have to pay at least €70 million extra a year for access to the bloc's single market if Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union next year.

No contribution to EU enlargement from Switzerland

Switzerland will succeed in renewing its trade deals with Brussels without committing one single Swiss Franc to the EU enlargement. Norway was forced to pay 1.7 bn crowns (210 million euro) per year in return for a new agreement with the EU.

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Pro-transparency MEPs are asking probing questions into possible conflict of interest between a senior EU commission official and Qatar, following revelations his business class trips were paid by Doha while negotiating a market access deal for its national airline.

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