Brussels, 22/05/2003 (Agence Europe) - Although not belonging to the EU, Norway considers it is concerned by the way Euro-Mediterranean relations develop, Norway's Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik said in an opinion column published in Le Monde on 20 May. He affirmed that his country "supports the EU's Euro-Mediterranean partnership and the importance given to the Mediterranean region in the context of the initiative in favour of an enlarged Europe" and that the "Middle East and North Africa, together with the Balkans, are a challenge as far as foreign and security policy is concerned, a challenge that does not only concern the countries that are immediate neighbours but the whole of Europe". The Prime Minister rejects the "shock of civilisations" argument and calls for the construction of networks of religious leaders likely to encourage mutual tolerance and love of one's neighbour, fundamental notions in the three religions that dominate our cultural community.