A major issue for Norway is its fishing resources, which are a significant part of the national economy and which would come under the Common Fisheries Policy if Norway were to accede to the EU. Norway has high GNP per capita and would have to pay a high membership fee.
Norway also has a history of co-operation and friendship with the United Kingdom and Scotland, due to their shared cultural heritage since Viking times.
The Agreement on the European Economic Area brings together the EU Member States and the three EEA EFTA States – Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway – into one Single Market, also referred to as the Internal Market.
What countries are not in the EU but want to join?
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia, and Serbia have all been officially granted candidate status. Kosovo, which is claimed by Serbia and not recognised by 5 EU states, applied on 14 December 2022 and is considered a potential candidate by the European Union.
Why Norway, Switzerland, and Iceland REFUSE to Join the EU
Why did Norway reject the EU?
A major issue for Norway is its fishing resources, which are a significant part of the national economy and which would come under the Common Fisheries Policy if Norway were to accede to the EU. Norway has high GNP per capita and would have to pay a high membership fee.
Potential enlargement of the European Union is governed by Article 49 of the Maastricht Treaty. If the UK applied to rejoin the EU, it would need to apply and have its application terms supported unanimously by the EU member states.
Reasons for Iceland's non-membership of the European Union
The importance of the fishing industry to Iceland's economy and the perception that EU membership (and its Common Fisheries Policy) will have an adverse effect on the fishing industry.
The EU has accused and criticized Turkey for human rights violations and deficits in rule of law. In 2017, EU officials said that the strong presidency created by the 2017 Turkish constitutional referendum would violate the Copenhagen criteria of eligibility for an EU membership.
Below, we show the happiness scores of European countries from the World Happiness Report 2025. Finland continues its reign as the happiest country in the world for its eighth consecutive year.
Taking purchasing power parity into account, this puts Norway very high up in the list of the world's richest countries, in 7th place. Inflation in Norway in 2024 was around 3.30%. Within the EU, the average in the same year was 2.60 percent.
The population of Norway is only 8% of the UK's yet its per capita wealth significantly surpasses ours, driven by its lucrative oil and gas industry and supported by the world's largest sovereign wealth fund which is valued at over $1.4 trillion.
Every year, around 30,000 people pack their bags and leave Norway. The reasons foreign residents leave are obviously varied and depend on personal circumstances but a recent study revealed that one factor that pushes many to pack their bags is Norway's health system.
The government relies on the support of the Socialist Left Party in order to secure a majority. On 14 October 2021, Jonas Gahr Støre, the leader of Norway's center-left Labor Party, was sworn in as new Prime Minister of Norway. His center-left minority government included ten women and nine men.
Legal Basis: NATO 1949 and the 1951 US–Iceland Defense Agreement. Iceland's no army model rests on two instruments: joining NATO in 1949, which commits the country to collective defense, and the 1951 bilateral defense agreement with the United States.
During the Cold War, Finland embraced an official policy of neutrality. After the Cold War, Finland became a member of the European Union in 1995 and the Eurozone in 1999. Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Finland joined NATO in 2023.
The UK was a key asset for the EU in the fields of foreign affairs and defence given that the UK was (with France) one of the EU's two major military powers, and had significant intelligence capabilities, soft power and a far reaching diplomatic network. Without the UK, EU foreign policy could be less influential.
The economic effects of Brexit were a major area of debate during and after the referendum on UK membership of the European Union. The majority of economists believe that Brexit has harmed the UK's economy and reduced its real per capita income in the long term, and the referendum itself damaged the economy.
The EU is also argued to have a negative financial impact due to rising costs of membership, and an alleged negative impact of EU regulatory burdens on UK business. Opponents of the EU have accused its politicians and civil servants of corruption.
The UK, the Crown Dependencies, and the Republic of Ireland have operated a Common Travel Area (CTA) since 1923 (with passport-free travel and freedom of movement with each other), but the UK would not abolish border controls with any other countries and therefore opted out of the Agreement.
Cyprus has moved one step closer to entering Europe's passport-free Schengen Area after Deputy Minister for Migration and International Protection Nicholas Ioannides met EU Home-Affairs Commissioner Magnus Brunner in Brussels on 19 November.
Within the European Union (EU), six member states have not yet adopted the euro and continue to use their own national currencies: the Czech Republic, Denmark, Hungary, Poland, Romania, and Sweden. Of these, all except Denmark are legally committed to adopting the euro once they meet the required convergence criteria.
