Memorial Ceremony

Not much has happened lately in connection to my upcoming internship and therefore I have not been posting any updates. Unfortunately this weekend gave me a reason to post when a horrible terror attack happened in Oslo and on the small island Utøya. Any incident as horrific as this obviously makes a deep impression on everybody and when this then happens in Oslo and is an attack on the democratic institutions in Norway it makes an indelible impression on me also. It is incomprehensible how this Christian right-wing terrorist managed to convince himself that what he did was right and needed to be done. My heartfelt condolences go out to who lost friends or family and my hope is that the Norwegians will stand by the words of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg: “We meet terror and violence with more democracy and will continue to fight against intolerance,”. On Saturday I went to a memorial ceremony, outside the Norwegian consulate in Aalborg, for the victims in Oslo and Utøya.

I am no threat to the nation

This is becoming old news but happy news none the less. I have got my security clearance last Thursday. I consider this to be my last hurdle and with this out if the way I see no reason why I should not be going to Oslo. I got an e-mail from the Danish ambassador in Oslo with the decision of Danish Security and Intelligence Service/Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark/SIK. This e-mail I have forwarded to the International Office at Aalborg University since they consider the security clearance a confirmation of the internship. I am very happy about this development even though some friends on Facebook were arguing that giving me a security clearance must be a mistake. :-)

Turist

On the third day in Berlin we went sightseeing, starting at The Fernsehturm where we about 204 meters up had great view over Berlin. Then we went to The Reichstag where we were not able to enter, because of the fear of terrorism you have to order tickets in advance. After The Reichstag we went to the Brandenburger Tor then to the Memorial to the Murdered Jews of Europe before the Berlin Wall and Checkpoint Charlie. We ended the day at Alexa Shopping Center which had more or less the same shops as Aalborg city.

View 2011-05-05 in a larger map

Computer nostalgia

Second day in Berlin was spent on a short visit to the gourmet department of Galeria Kaufhof where my mouth water was dripping all over the culinary specialties from around the world.  After Galeria Kaufhof we had a small walk in the area around Alexanderplatz before my family went to the Berliner Dom and I went to the Computerspielemuseum. The Computerspielemuseum was interesting especially interesting was it to see all the different video game consoles that has been made since 1979, but it was a bit small and I would have liked the opportunity to interact more with the machines and the games.

A zoological experience

The first day in Berlin we spend in Berlin Zoological Garden, this was also the first real test for my new camera (more about that at my other blog). The trip to the zoo was very nice and Berlin Zoological Garden is very big when you are used to Aalborg Zoo the only regret about the trip was that I only brought a very light jacket which was not really sufficient since it was a bit cold. For dinner that day we picked up Indian food at the Taj Mahal India (www.tajmahalindia.de) which cannot be recommended since the food was unfortunately close to tasteless.

A Trip to Berlin

Last Monday I went to Berlin. My mother and her husband had rented an apartment in Richard-Sorge-Straβe in East Berlin so my sister and I went to spend a few days with them there. Due to being very late at deciding to go and being a bit cheap we decided to go by bus. The bus leaves from Aarhus and not Aalborg so I had to leave Aalborg by train at 06:01 to be in Aarhus for the bus at 08:00, on 09:35 the bus arrived in Kolding and we picked up my sister and on 17:00 we arrived in at Berlin ZOB. The trip was very comfortable with tables and power outlets for our computers and the price was also very reasonable for students 450kr (60,35 Euro) for a one-way ticket or 810kr (108,62) for a return ticket. If you are planning to go to Berlin from Jutland I can easily recommend Abildskou, more information can be found at http://www.abildskou.dk.

Zagreb

When I applied for the internship at the Danish Embassy in Oslo I also send out applications for a few other internships among them the political/economic department at the Danish Embassy in Zagreb. Two days ago I then received a rejection of my application, but apparently they do not think that I am completely useless because they asked me to consider an internship in their trade department.  Obviously I am very happy having got the internship at the Danish Embassy in Oslo and I would not trade that for the position in Zagreb not least because I will rather be an intern in a political-economic department than in a trade department. There is though especially one thing that I do find particularly interesting about the position in Zagreb and that is that the internship is 12 instead of the normal 6 months. I can imagine that spending the double amount of time on an internship could be very beneficial for both the intern and the embassy. Anyways it is always a nice feeling to get a somewhat positive response to an application.

The breakdown of fax-democracy?

Are we seeing the breakdown of fax-democracy and what will be the future for European Union (EU)-Norway relations? On the 2^nd of May 1992 the members of European Free Trade Association (EFTA) (among them Norway), the European Community (EC) and the members of the EC signed the European Economic Area (EEA) agreement. The EEA agreements is based on the same four principles or freedoms as the EC – the free movement of goods, persons, services and capital among EEA countries. This means that EFTA countries that are part of the EEA enjoy free trade with the EU. But the agreement also gives the EEA countries some obligations. The EEA countries have to adopt EU law in the areas of social policy, consumer policy, environment, company law and statistics but since the EEA countries have no representation in the EU institutions in Brussels they have very little influence on the legislation that they have to adopt. This situation is sometimes called a fax-democracy where the Norwegian parliament (Stortinget) is just waiting for the latest legislation being faxed from the European Commission. The EEA countries also have the obligation to contribute to the reduction of economic and social disparities in the EEA trough the EEA and Norway Grants. According to the EEA Grants 2009-14 agreement the EEA Grants are at 197.7 million Euro a year and the EEA countries contribute according to size and financial strength. Since Norway is by far the largest of the three countries (Norway, Iceland and Lichtenstein) they provide 95% of the grants. On top of that there is the Norway Grants that is another 160 million Euro paid by Norway annually. These contributions should be seen in connection with the fact that EEA countries cannot receive any funding from neither EU policies nor development funds.

On the 10^th of April the Norwegian Labour Party (Arbeiderpartiet) held there 63. national convention, among other controversial topics was the EU directive “3^rd Postal Service Directive” (3PSD). Even though the party leaders supported the directive they did not get the support for the directive from the national convention. This means that all three of the parties in the Norwegian government coalition are against the directive and Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg said that the Norwegian government will demand changes to the negotiations with the EU and that if the demands of the Norwegian government are not met they will make use of the reservation right in the EEA, that grants right to reserve itself against the transposition and implementation of any EU directive. If Norway makes use of the reservation right this will be the first time in history that an EEA country refuses to implement EU law. Now if that happens what is going to be the response of the EU? The EEA agreement gives the EU the right to suspend the whole or part of the EEA this could for Norway have an enormous impact since 80.3% of all Norwegian exports go to the EEA-area and that this accounts for 25.8% of the national budget. Will the EU be using that right? According to Erik Dale (Norwegian blogger and assistant to Paal Frisvold) the short answer will be that the EU has to. If the EU let a Norwegian reservation go unnoticed it will set a precedence for future reservations, and the EU regards the 3PSD as a central step in the completion of the common market and cannot let a small non-member reserve itself against such a central part. So what will be the outcome of this crisis? Again according to Erik Dale there seems to be two options that start with Norway breaking up with the EEA and leaving EFTA and thereafter either becomes a full member of the EU or become a single partner in a dynamic agreement with the EU.

The leader of the Norwegian Europa Movement Paal Frisvold has said in connection to this crisis that he is looking forward to it and that when Norwegians find out what the EEA really is about then they will not put up with it and he thinks that eventually this crisis will strengthen the EU membership positive side in Norway.

All in all this seems like it could be the breakdown of fax-democracy, and the prospects of future EU-Norwegian relations seem very interesting.

Sources:
http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7599245

http://www.nrk.no/nyheter/norge/1.7588168

http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/oct2007/gb2007103_555190.htm

http://eurodale.eu/2011/04/11/an-era-ends-for-the-efta-and-the-eea/

http://www.jasiden.no

http://www.wikipedia.org/

Student with a butler

One thing that I’ll need when I move to Oslo is a place to stay. The embassy can help find an flat and will support me with 3000 NOK/month for living costs. I have been looking at www.hybel.no to see what prices I can expect and they are quite higher than in Aalborg. A two-room flat is more than 7000 NOK/month and a room in shared flat is from 3500 NOK/month and up.

The other day a friend of mine was so kind as to share an article with me, the main point of the article is that there is a lag of housing in Oslo and that this problem will escalate the coming years to a state where a two-room flat in Oslo by 2016 will be 15.000 NOK/month. But it is not all bad news apparently the Norwegians (Danish, Norwegian) have invented a fantastic concept for study flats – flats with a servant… Unfortunately this concept has yet to be introduced in Oslo so I guess I still have to do my own grocery shopping and such. But it might be just the same since I think the price tag of 6900 NOK/month would be a little on the expensive side for me anyway. If you want to read more about the concept you can go to the website of Sorbonne the company behind the concept.


UPDATE: I just read this article today about the housing market in Oslo it is in English and touches on some of the same issues as the Norwegian article: http://www.newsinenglish.no/2011/04/18/oslo-becoming-like-manhattan/

Waiting

After sending the ambassador an e-mail to make sure he had received the personal information form that I sent a week ago. I got an e-mail back only a few minutes later saying that he had received it and forwarded it (to The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark I suppose). I guess I’ll just continue to wait for a security clearance for a couple of months.

Lisbon

I just had a call from The Danish Embassy in Lisbon, but I told them straight away that I already accepted the offer from The Danish Embassy in Oslo. Now I am wondering what they would have asked me and if I could have gotten that internship instead. I am sure I made the right choice but I can’t help still being a bit curious…

Food

If you have been watching the Norwegian news yesterday you will no doubt have heard about the new report “Mat, makt og avmakt – om styrkeforholdene I verdikjeden for mat” (Food, Power and Powerlessness – about the balance of power in the value chain for food) published yesterday. The report shows that in 2008 Norway had the highest food prices in the whole of Europe and that the prices was 55% higher than the average European prices. The most expensive food products are Norwegian meat, bread and agricultural products like eggs, milk and cheese. As Denmark has the second highest food prices in Europe I guess that coming from Denmark I am somewhat prepared but even higher prices than what I am paying now seems very expensive.

 The price level for food and nonalcoholic beverages compared to the price level in the EU, 2000-2008. (NOU 2011:4)  

Woop Woop

Yesterday morning started really really bad, I had not been sleeping well had a fever, sore throat etc. and I had and exam that I was not to well prepared for. The exam was in course literature from the courses; EU Law, The Political Economy of Europe, EU Institutions and Policies and Culture, Identity and Politics but even with my fairly bad starting point I still managed to get the grade 12 (A)… I know this does not have much to do with my internship in Oslo but I thought I would still mention it.  :-)

Money Issues

There is no doubt that Oslo is going to be an expensive place to live, according to ECA International Oslo was in 2010 the 2nd most expensive city in the world after Tokyo.  One way that this can be seen explicitly is when it comes to pizza, if you go and compare www.justeat.dk and www.justeat.no you’ll see that a pizza in Oslo is way more expensive that in Aalborg. If you want to buy a pizza in Aalborg you’ll pay around 55 DKK (7,38 Euro) but in Oslo you have to pay 130 NOK (16,66 Euro) that is more than double! I am happy that I don’t eat pizzas that often, but that doesn’t mean that I’m not in trouble a pint of beer in Oslo is unfortunately suffering from the same problem as the pizzas.

On a more serious note I think that it’ll be hard to make ends meet doing my internship, I will of course get my state education grant, and with 3000 NOK (384,54 Euro) per month to help cover living cost The Danish Embassy in Oslo is one of the more generous of its kind. But with living costs so high, no time for a job and me wanting to experience Oslo/Norway something more is needed. I have already applied for a grant from “Internationaliseringspuljen” at Aalborg University which can give my about 5000 DKK (670,47 Euro). But I also need to be looking at other grants and as this story proves it is possible to gain quite a lot of money from that:  (A former Danish student who managed to get nearly 100.000 DKK (13.409,38 Euro) from grants during her 5 years as a student). Fortunately I still have 11 month before I am leaving for the internship so hopefully I’ll be able to get some grant money as well.

Crossing fingers

Yesterday evening I got an e-mail from the ambassador saying that he accepts the intern agreement and that it has now been filled in the embassy’s records.  Today I have been to the photographer and had a new photo taken for the personal information form and I have sent the filled out form to the embassy. So now there is not much more left to do other than just hope that I’ll get the security clearance.

Approval

Yesterday evening I got the now completely filled out intern agreement back from the ambassador, so today I have printed, signed, scanned and e-mailed it back to him. I also got an e-mail from my study coordinator saying that he has now signed and sent the supervisor approval form to the International Office at Aalborg University. This means that the only thing left is the personal information form and I plan to have pictures taken for it and send on my way to a meeting with my project group at 16:00.

Forms

I have today received my dispensation from the Board of Studies and because of that I have been able to return the intern-agreement to the ambassador. I was also supposed to return the personal information form but since the pictures I had taken yesterday are so horrible that I don’t want to use them, I have to wait until I can have new ones taken tomorrow before I can send that.

I also got an e-mail from the International Office today with the form that I need my supervisor to sign before the university can accept my internship so I’ll try to have that signed either tomorrow or Friday, where I have to go to university for a lecture anyway.

The Beginning

I have gotten an internship at The Danish Embassy in Oslo. I applied on the 30^th of March and only a couple of hours after I sent the application I got a positive reply. I was applying for the period from the 1^st of September 2011 to the 29^th of February 2012 but since that position was already taken I was offered the period from the 1^st of March to the 31^st of August. Since the rules for European Studies at Aalborg University are that I have go on an internship on the 9^th semester I had to apply The Board of Studies International Affairs for a dispensation so that I can interchange my 9^th and 10^th semester and write my master thesis before I go on internship. I am expecting a positive answer for my application for dispensation tomorrow.

When I get my dispensation I can go to the next step in getting all the formalities in order. I have to fill out two forms and return them to the ambassador. The first form is an “intern agreement” from The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark that I have to fill out and return by e-mail. The other one is a “personal information form” that is used in the process of granting me my security clearance this has to be filled out printed in two copies and attached a photo before being sent by mail to the ambassador.  I will go the photographer on my way to work today to have the photos ready for sending the form tomorrow.

Read the internship advert (Danish): http://www.amboslo.um.dk/da/menu/OmOs/Praktikant/