In November 1968, a European Commission delegation meets the Norwegian authorities with a view to seeking a solution to the problems for the common fisheries policy which will result from Norwegian accession to the Common Market.

Am 24. April 1970 beschreibt der deutsche Bundeskanzler Willy Brandt vor den Vertretern der im Storting vertretenen politischen Parteien die Chancen und Risiken der Erweiterung der Europäischen Gemeinschaften um die skandinavischen Staaten.

En mai 1970, la revue du Mouvement européen néerlandais Nieuw Europa examine la situation dans les secteurs de l'agriculture, de la pêche et de l'industrie en Norvège à la veille du début des négociations d'adhésion aux Communautés européennes.

On 30 June 1970, in Luxembourg, Svenn Stray, Norwegian Foreign Minister, delivers a speech at the diplomatic conference attended by the six Member States of the European Communities and the four candidate countries.

In September 1970, the French monthly magazine Le Monde diplomatique outlines the stakes involved in and the historical scope of Norway’s possible accession to the European Communities.

On 6 January 1971, an internal memorandum from the Luxembourg Foreign Ministry outlines the position of the Norwegian authorities on the forthcoming negotiations for the country’s accession to the European Communities.

On 30 March 1971, the new Norwegian Foreign Minister, Andreas Cappelen, reiterates his government’s commitment to bringing the accession negotiations under way with the European Communities to a successful conclusion as soon as possible.

In January 1972, in the journal Revue du Marché commun, Andreas Cappelen, Norwegian Foreign Minister, describes Norway's hopes and fears with regard to its accession to the common market.

Table showing trade between Norway and the EEC from 1958 to 1969.

On 22 September 1970, during the first ministerial session between the European Communities and Norway, Norwegian Foreign Minister Svenn Stray raises the question of the establishment of a common fisheries policy.

On 26 January 1971, French daily newspaper Le Monde lists the demands of Norwegian farmers and fishermen who require greater flexibility of Community rules on agriculture in the event of their country joining the European Economic Community (EEC).

Trygve Bratteli, norwegischer Premierminister, erläutert in einem Interview mit dem deutschen Nachrichtenmagazin Der Spiegel die Schwierigkeiten auf welche Norwegen in den Beitrittsverhandlungen zum Gemeinsamen Markt immer wieder stößt.

In February 1971, as European Commission President Franco Maria Malfatti visits Norway, the European Commission issues a memorandum outlining the results of the latest negotiations with Norwegian leaders on the question of the common policy for the fishing industry.

On 4 May 1971, as negotiations are held for Norway’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), the Norwegian delegation raises the question of fishing rights.

On 4 May 1971, the Norwegian delegation sends the European Communities a memorandum on the question of access to fishing areas within Norway’s territorial waters.

On 8 June 1971, as negotiations are held for Norway’s accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), the Norwegian delegation drafts a memorandum on how the market arrangements for fish in the Community are likely to affect the country’s fishing industry.

On 21 June 1971, as negotiations are held for Norway’s accession to the European Common Market, the Norwegian delegation calls for the adoption of special arrangements to solve the problems facing the country’s agriculture.

On 28 December 1971, an internal memorandum from the European Commission delegation offers a first assessment of the negotiations on the question of the Norwegian fishing industry.

Dans son édition de janvier 1972, la Revue du Marché commun examine la situation de la pêche norvégienne et dresse un catalogue des difficultés liées à l'adhésion éventuelle de la Norvège au Marché commun européen.

In an article published in the Revue du Marché commun in January 1972, Per Kleppe, Norwegian Minister for Trade and Shipping, describes the characteristics of Norway’s economy that should be taken into account in the negotiations for the country’s accession to the European Communities.

On 7 January 1972, in Brussels, the Norwegian Delegation - comprising (from left to right) Andreas Cappelen (Foreign Minister), Søren Christian Sommerfelt (leader of the Norwegian negotiating delegation) and Trygve Bratelli (Prime Minister) - meet Franco Maria Malfatti, President of the European Commission.

Treaty concerning the accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC) of the Kingdom of Denmark, Ireland, the Kingdom of Norway and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

On 22 January 1972 in Brussels, Andreas Cappelen, Norwegian Foreign Minister, signs Norway’s Treaty of Accession to the European Communities. On 25 September 1972, accession is rejected by the Norwegian people in a national referendum.

On 22 January 1972, in Brussels, the Norwegian Delegation - comprising (from left to right) Andreas Cappelen, Foreign Minister, Trygve Martin Bratelli, Prime Minister, and Søren Christian Sommerfelt, leader of the Norwegian negotiating delegation- sign Norway's Treaty of Accession to the European Communities.

Am 25. September 1972 sollen die Norweger in einer Volksabstimmung über den Beitritt ihres Landes zu den Europäischen Gemeinschaften entscheiden. Am Ende stimmen 53,5 % mit "Nein".

In the winter of 1972, the Norwegian agency Statistics Norway publishes figures on the turnout in the referendum on the country’s accession to the European common market organised on 25 September 1972.

Am 25. September 1972 stimmen die Norweger in einem Referendum gegen den Beitritt ihres Landes zu den Europäischen Gemeinschaften. Am nächsten Tag berichtet RTL ausführlich über das Thema in seiner 19 Uhr-Nachrichtensendung und präsentiert seinen Hörern die Reaktionen von Sicco Mansholt, Präsident der Europäischen Kommission, und Jean Monnet, Präsident des Aktionskomitees für die Vereinigten Staaten von Europa.

Am 26. September 1972 untersucht Radio RTL die Gründe und die Konsequenzen, die in einem Referendum am Vortag zur Ablehnung der Norweger, den Europäischen Gemeinschaften beizutreten, führten. Er präsentiert seinen Hörern die Reaktionen des französischen Staatspräsidenten Georges Pompidou und des beigeordneten Ministers im Außenministerium André Bettencourt.

Am 25. September 1972 lehnt die norwegische Bevölkerung in einem Referendum den Beitritt des Landes zu den Europäischen Gemeinschaften ab. Am nächsten berichtet RTL über die französischen Reaktionen auf dieses Entscheidung.

On 26 September 1972, André Bettencourt, French Foreign Minister, comments on the negative outcome of the Norwegian referendum and calls for European integration to be revived.

On 25 September 1972, the ‘no' vote triumphs at the popular referendum on Norway's accession to the common market. For German cartoonist, Hartung, ‘The fiancé says no' and the ‘marriage' between Norway and the European Economic Community (EEC) falls through.

On 25 September 1972, the Norwegians vote in a referendum against the country's accession to the European common market. Two days later, the French daily newspaper Le Monde analyses the consequences of this Norwegian refusal for the process of enlargement of the European Economic Community (EEC).

Gerhard Ritzel, deutscher Botschafter in Oslo, äußert sich nach dem negativen Ergebnis der norwegischen Volksabstimmung über einen EG-Beitritt über die zukünftigen Beziehungen zwischen Norwegen und den Europäischen Gemeinschaften.

In November 1972, the Revue du Marché commun publishes an analysis by Torkel Opsahl, Professor at the Institute of Public Law and International Law at Oslo University, on the refusal of the Norwegian people to enter the European common market.

On 25 September 1972, the people of Norway vote in a referendum against their country’s accession to the European Communities. The French cartoonist, Plantu, illustrates this first setback in the European enlargement process.

The cartoonist, Behrendt, illustrates the first u-turn in the process of European enlargement. Sailing behind the Danish liner, which tirelessly follows its route towards Europe, the Norwegian ship 'changes course' and turns back on 25 September 1972.

On 18 September 1972, in the run up to the referendum on whether Norway should accede to the European Community, the French weekly magazine L’Express describes the tense atmosphere prevailing among the Norwegian people.

In March 1973, writing in the French magazine Le Monde diplomatique, Trygve Bratteli, former Prime Minister of Norway, sets out the reasons why the Norwegians voted in a referendum against accession to the European Communities.

In diesem Interview spricht Bjørn Tore Godal, von 1971 bis 1973 Vorsitzender der Jugendorganisation der norwegischen Arbeiterpartei, über die Hauptgründe für die Ablehnung des Beitritts Norwegens zu den Europäischen Gemeinschaften durch die norwegische Bevölkerung am 25. September 1972. Er betont die Entfernung nach Brüssel und die Vorbehalte eines jungen Nationalstaates, einen Teil seiner Souveränität aufzugeben, und unterstreicht die Bedeutung der Fischerei und der Landwirtschaft für Norwegen.

In this interview, Edmund Wellenstein, Head of the European Commission delegation for negotiations on enlargement of the European Communities from 1970 to 1973, describes the reactions of the Commission and the Norwegian Government to the negative result in the referendum held on 25 September 1972 on the country’s accession to the European Communities.