Leading Norwegian politicians said Friday the Scandinavian country could be sidelined with the prospects of Turkish entry talks and possible future membership in the European Union. "The E.U. would be even larger and Norway relatively smaller. It would be more difficult for Norway to have an impact," Foreign Minister Jan Petersen said. The leader of the opposition Social Democrats, Jens Stoltenberg, said the integration of Turkey in the E.U. was a new argument for Norwegian membership in the bloc. Stoltenberg added that Turkish membership was "a historic chance of building a bridge between Christian and Moslem societies," the Norwegian news agency NTB reported. Norway has twice rejected joining the bloc. One of the most vocal opponents of membership, Kristin Halvorsen of the opposition Socialist Left Party, said the Norwegian debate would not be influenced if Turkey joins the E.U. "Foreign Minister Jan Petersen says this (Turkey's membership) would further marginalise Norway. That would also occur if we became a member of the E.U. Turkey has 80 million people, Norway has 4.5 million," Halvorsen told NTB. She added it was important to welcome Turkey, and reminded of the economic challenge it would mean to integrate Turkey. ---SP 2215 Local Time 1915 GMT
