Aside from its application for membership in the EU, the major foreign policy issue for Norway is ensuring the continuing security of its borders. A member of NATO, Norway is concerned about the withdrawal of US military forces from Europe, especially as the Norwegian government remains unconvinced that Russia is politically stable. To strengthen its security, Norway became an associate member of the WEU in November 1992.
Norway has played peace-broker in a number of major international conflicts, notably in helping to progress towards a resolution of the Palestinian-Israeli dispute. It has also been directly involved in attempting to bring an end to the Bosnian conflict; the foreign minister, Thorvald Stoltenberg, was UN negotiator in the region in 1994.
The government is exasperated at its inability to control the ecological effects of acid rain, which is destroying its forests, and blames lax pollution controls in the UK, Germany and Russia for the problem.
