Where to wriggle? Norwegian politicians’ presentations of autonomy within the EEA association

Abstract

Perceptions of the ‘wriggle room’ within the framework of European integration might have significant implications for both public opinion and policy choices, as exemplified by the Brexit process. Examining how ideas of a wriggle room are presented to the public is therefore important, and even more so for arrangements of external differentiated integration, where formal access to EU decision-making is restricted. Through examining how Norwegian politicians have presented the wriggle room within the EEA association in the period 1987–2022, the article shows how such presentations vary. It is argued that these are not only dependent on the legal-institutional framework of the agreement, but that the parties’ positions on the EEA association and on European integration in general condition their presentations.