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.

On 24 April 1970, in Oslo, the German Chancellor, Willy Brandt, outlines to representatives of the political parties elected to the Storting the issues involved in the enlargement of the European Communities to include the Scandinavian countries.

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).

On 19 July 1971, German weekly publication Der Spiegel looks back at the lively debates whipped up in Norway by the country's second application for accession to the European common market.

On 19 July 1971, in an interview with the German weekly Der Spiegel, Trygve Bratteli, Norwegian Prime Minister, lists the stumbling blocks holding up the diplomatic negotiations on Norway's accession to the European common market.

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 10 November 1971, the German daily newspaper Die Welt comments on the difficult negotiations between the Six and the candidate countries to reach an agreement on fisheries policy.

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.

Norway signs the Treaty of Accession to the European Economic Community (EEC) on 22 January 1972, in Brussels. The Treaty contains a special protocol on fishing rights.

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.

In January 1972, the Bulletin of the European Communities offers an in-depth analysis of the economic problems arising from the planned entry of Denmark and Norway into 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.

On 25 September 1972, the Norwegians are called upon to vote in a referendum on their country's accession to the European Communities. Following the ballot, the ‘no’ wins, with 53.5% of the votes cast.

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.

In the referendum held on 25 September 1972, the Norwegians vote against their country joining the European Communities. The following day, RTL 7p.m. news broadcast covers the issue in depth and gives its listeners the opportunity to hear the opinions of Sicco Mansholt, President of the European Commission, and Jean Monnet, Chairman of the Action Committee for a United States of Europe.

On 26 September 1972, the RTL radio station considers the reasons for and the consequences of the rejection by the Norwegian people of Norway’s accession to the European Communities in the referendum held in the country the previous day. RTL presents its listeners with the reactions of Georges Pompidou, President of the French Republic, and André Bettencourt, Minister Delegate to the French Foreign Minister.

On 25 September 1972, the Norwegian people vote in a referendum against their country joining the European Communities. The following day, RTL reports on France’s reaction to this decision.

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, through a referendum, Norwegians oppose the accession of their country to the European common market. Two days later, German daily newspaper Die Welt considers the reasons for this refusal. .

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).

On 27 September 1972, in its coverage of the negative outcome of the popular referendum in Norway on the country's accession to the European Economic Community (EEC), German daily newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung leads on the European and domestic political repercussions of this refusal.

On 27 September 1972, after the negative result in the Norwegian referendum on the country’s accession to the European Communities, Gerhard Ritzel, German Ambassador to Oslo, analyses the future relations between the European Communities and Norway.

On 28 September 1972, daily newspaper Luxemburger Wort displays concern over the possible consequences of the negative outcome of the Norwegian popular referendum on the country's accession to the European Economic Community (EEC).

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 this interview, Bjørn Tore Godal, leader of the Workers’ Youth League in Norway from 1971 to 1973, recalls the main reasons why the people of Norway, on 25 September1972, rejected accession to the European Communities. He emphasises, in particular, factors such as the distance from Brussels and the reluctance of a young nation-state to transfer part of its sovereignty, and he emphasises the significance of the fishing industry and agriculture in Norway.

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.