n a November 1994 referendum, Norwegians decisively rejected (for the second time) EU membership simply because the net benefit of joining appeared to the majority dubious, considering Norway's petroleum wealth and strong ties with the EU through the EEA. The majority in 1994 was of the opinion that the country had more to lose than to win from a full EU membership that would, in their view, jeopardize the heavy subsidies for the Norwegian fishing industry, agriculture, rural regions, and welfare system. EU membership, however, is attractive for the Labor government in the long term, especially given the depletion of oil and gas fields, and the membership issue may be reviewed after the September 2001 election, particularly if the party stays in power. The population remains dramatically split, as is the Labor party itself, with the national leadership more in favor of joining the EU than the rank-and-file party members and the regional bodies. Norway has already had some negative political experiences arising from not being an EU member. As a member of NATO (a military alliance of several western European countries along with the United States and Canada), it has voiced concerns after the EU's decision taken at the summit in Nice, France, in 2000, to develop the much-debated European rapid reaction force. Norway requested to be consulted on equal terms with the rest of the EU members on the issue, fearing that it might not be properly integrated into the negotiations and troop deployment process and alienated from decision-making regarding the European force.
Norway's economy remains an essentially mixed one, with economic policies and, particularly, income distribution patterns strongly influenced by government intervention. There is still a very significant state ownership component in petroleum, telecommunications, and commercial banking.