Institusjonelle bindinger og interessekamp: Norges tilpasning til EU på mat- og landbruksfeltet

The article analyzes adaptations to the EU. Focus is on Norway’s trade relations with the EU in the fields of food and agriculture. These fields are partially covered by the 1994 EEA Agreement (food regulations) and partly excluded (agricultural policy). The research questions are: 1) How have trade relations with the EU evolved since the EEA Agreement entered into force?; 2) What can explain Norway’s adaptations to the EU? The article shows that Norway has adapted fully on areas covered by formal EEA obligations. However, Norway has gone even further in its adaptations to the EU. These “voluntary” adaptations can partly be explained by an economic logic where issue-linkages and domestic economic interests are at play, and partly by the authorities’ perceived constraints and obligations to cooperate with the EU in trade liberalization. The article shows how a combination of institutional constraints and balancing of economic interests has shaped Norway’s adaptations to the EU, also in areas that were not originally part of the requirements of the EEA Agreement.