GRUNNLOV-Grunnlovsjubileet 2014

The NORCONE project has resulted in two main books and several large-scale events, in addition to other articles, book chapters and presentations at academic conferences. The first book, 'Det norske paradoks: om Norges forhold til Den europeiske union' (Universitetsforlaget, 2014) deals with Norway's association with the EU and how this affects popular rule and the conditions for constitutional democracy in Norway. The book is edited by Erik O. Eriksen and John Erik Fossum, with contributions from Lars Blichner, Morten Egeberg, Fredrik Bøckman Finstad, Halvard H. Fredriksen, Eirik Holmøyvik, Cathrine Holst, Espen D. H. Olsen, Helene Sjursen and Jarle Trondal, in addition to the editors. ARENA staged several dissemination events, including: 24 February 2014: 'Norge og Europa i endring: Må demokratiet redefineres?', seminar in cooperation with Partnerforum. Eriksen, Fossum, Holst, Sjursen and Trondal presented their research to a large audience of public administration officials. 7 March 2014: 'Det norske paradoks', book opposition during the UiO Constitution Week. Eriksen and Fossum presented the book at the UiO Law Library, with Dean of the Law Faculty Hans Petter Graver as commentator. 17 March 2014: 'EU og det norske paradoks', book launch and debate at Litteraturhuset. Contributions by Eriksen, Holmøyvik, Fossum and Sjursen, comments from Kristin Clemet and Sten Inge Jørgensen and an ensuing discussion. The theme sparked great interest and debate. 5 June 2014: 'Norge, EØS og et EU i forvandling', seminar at the Norwegian Parliament where Egeberg, Eriksen, Olsen and Sjursen presented relevant research and discussed opportunities and restrictions for Norway with MPs. 23 June 2014: 'The EU's non-members: Incorporation without participation?', conference in Brussels. Contributions from Eriksen, Fossum, Olsen, Sjursen and Fredriksen were supplemented by contributions from Sieglinde Gstöhl on the EU neigbourhood policy and René Schwok on Switerland's association to the EU. The conference was fully signed up by participants from the Norwegian delegations in Brussels, but also from other associated EU countries and from the EU institutions. The contributors to the book have also been invited to present their findings at several events including Litteraturhuset in Bergen, Frogn city halls, Askim public library, Protestfestivalen in Kristiansand. The well attended ARENA lecture 2014 by the Minister for European Affairs Helgesen also brought up the themes from the book. ARENA's news item 'EØS-avtalen truer demokratiet' was published as the main news at the UiO website and at forskning.no, and was commented by several news media. This news item is the all-time most visited at the ARENA website. Thanks to the events and good media coverage, the findings of this book have reached a very wide audience. The second book, 'The Normativity of the European Union' (Palgrave Macmillan, 2014) by Erik O. Eriksen deals with the constitutional and democratic development of the EU. The book gives an overview of the status and conditions for democracy in a Europe in crisis. The NORCONE project also staged three major conferences. 14-15 March 2013: 'Europe in crises, Europe as the crisis?' gathered international researchers - as well as public officials from the Council and of the European Central Bank - at Blindern for a discussion of whether the European crises require a radical restructuring of the EU and the way in which decision-makers, intellectuals, academics and the public approaches the EU. 25 October 2013: The full-day seminar 'Den norske Grunnloven i internasjonalt perspektiv' was directed towards teachers, but also had participants from the Norwegian Parliament, Ministries, academia and NGOs and other organisations. Eriksen and Fossum held contributions based on the book 'Det norske paradoks', and further contributors were Christoffer Eriksen, Bård Frydenlund, Helga Hernes, Ola Mestad and Ole O. Moen. Editor Terje Lien also presented the website minstemme.no which was set up for teachers, children and youth in the occasion of the celebration of the Constitution. 4-6 November 2014: 'Democratic constitutionalism in Europe' marked the conclusion of the NORCONE project and was part of the Norwegian Parliament Stortinget's and UiO's official programme for the bicentennial anniversary in 2014. The main theme was the EU as political and constitutional project after the fall of the Berlin Wall and what has happened with law based cooperation in Europe after the financial crisis. The broad and interdisciplinary conference was opened by the President of the Norwegian Parliament and by the Rector of the UiO. The conference also included a political debate at Litteraturhuset with Norwegian, Danish and Swedish Parliamentarians, as well as four parallel workshops. NORCONE has a Norwegian and English website www.arena.uio.no/norcone with comprehensive reports on events, publications, media cove

Constitutions always evolve in their international contexts. There is no such thing as constitutionalism in one state. This was clearly the case in 1814, and no less so today. Legal developments beyond the nation state are profound; in Europe especially a s a consequence of the European Union. This is an entity that many analysts and decision-makers understand as a constitutional order. We examine how Norway's constitutional development is tied up with and affected by the EU. Formally speaking, Norway is n ot a member of the EU, but is nevertheless very closely affiliated with it, first and foremost through the European Economic Area (EEA) Agreement, but also through Schengen, and a range of other agreements. In this project we examine the democratic-consti tutional status of Norway by 1) establishing the nature of the EU's constitutional development, and 2) by analysing Norway's compound relationship with the EU. Are Norwegian citizens able to govern themselves autonomously through politics and law within t he new European context? ----------------------------------------- Fra tilleggssøknad 214777: Planen er et arrangement av en kort dags varighet (f.eks. kl. 10 - 14) i nærheten av noen av de store EU-institusjonene i Brussel, f.eks. i pressesenteret til Europaparlamentet på Place Luxembourg. ARENA har gode erfaringer fra et tilsvarende arrangement i mai i år, hvor funn fra ARENAs RECON-prosjekt ble presentert. Se: http://reconproject.eu/projectweb/portalproject/OutreachBrusselsMay11.html. Vi planlegge r å starte ca kl. 10-11 (slik at evt tilreisende kan komme om morgenen) til ca kl. 15-16, med en lett, stående lunsj i midten for mingling og intervjuer. Vi vil gå meget aktivt ut med invitasjoner til arrangementet og har som målsetting å tiltrekke ca 200 deltakere. Videre kan vi ha en presentasjon av boka 'Det europeiserte Norge -Om Norges innveving i Den europeiske union', med et hovedinnlegg først, og med påfølgende presentasjoner av noen utvalgte kapitler. I tillegg vil vi invitere kommentatorer uten fra på de ulike delene. -------------------------------------------------------------- Fra tilleggssøknad 214775: I samarbeid med Universitetsforlaget planlegges det utgivelse av to bøker: Bok 1: Arbeidstittel: 'Hvilket demokrati for hvilket Europa?', o m demokrati, konstitusjon og utviklingen i EU og Europa. Bok 2: Arbeidstittel: 'Det europeiserte Norge - Om Norges innveving i Den europeiske union' Bøkene vil inngå som hovedleveranser i NORCONE-prosjektet (og det faglige arbeidet bak bøkene er dermed f inansiert). I dialog med Universitetsforlaget vil bøkene bli videreutviklet som pensumbøker for høyskole- og universiteter, samt som attraktive debattbøker i 'grunnlovsåret'. Bøkene vil bli lasnert på hhv det planlagte Match Point konferansen i Oslo og N orge-EU-konferansen i Brussel, begge våren 2014. ----------------------------------------------------------------- Fra tilleggssøknad 235930: Som del av ARENAs prosjekt Den norske grunnloven i en europeisk kontekst - NORCONE, arrangeres det 25. oktober 2013 et seminar med tittelen "Grunnloven i internasjonal perspektiv". Arrangementet avholdes i Domus Media ved Universitetet i Oslo. Det er åpent for alle, men henvender seg spesielt til lærere i humaniora og samfunnsfag. Arrangementet "Grunnloven i inte rnasjonal perspektiv" er svært relevant for grunnlovssatsingens bidrag til informert refleksjon omkring Grunnlovens og demokratiets rolle og status. Seminaret fokuserer både på det idéhistoriske grunnlaget til den norske Grunnloven og den historiske konte ksten som den oppstod i, og trekker linjer fremover gjennom fokus på argumentasjonen for og imot kvinners stemmerett og valgbarhet fra før 1913 og fremover. Videre fokuserer seminaret på hvilke effekter Norges tilknytning til EU har for norsk konstitusjon elt demokrati. Det søkes med dette om arrangementsstøtte til lunsj- og trykkerikostnader i forbindelse med seminaret. Selv om arrangementet er en del av ARENAs NORCONE-prosjekt, er det ikke midler i dette prosjektet til å dekke disse ekstrautgiftene i fo rbindelse med seminaret.