Oslo  - The gap between supporters and opponents of Norway joining the European Union remains wide, according to a new opinion poll published Monday.

While 54.4 per cent were opposed to joining the 27-nation bloc, 36.1 per cent favoured joining the EU, the poll by research institute Sentio said.

Some 9.5 per cent of those people polled on September 2-7 were undecided, Sentio said, adding that the margin of error was 3 percentage points.

The sample was based on 904 people. Only people over 18, and therefore eligible to vote, were included in the survey, Sentio said.

Newspapers Nationen and Klassekampen commissioned the monthly poll.

The September poll was in line with earlier polls by Sentio this year, and indicated that opposition to EU membership was prevalent in all parts of the country except the capital, Oslo.

The no side has for some three-and-a-half years had a clear majority among Norwegian voters.

According to the Sentio survey in September, opponents to Norwegian EU membership have increased in both the Labour Party, the main force in the ruling red-green coalition, as well as in the opposition, populist Progress Party.

Norway in referendums in 1972 and 1994 voted against EU membership.

Oslo cooperates with the EU via the European Economic Area agreement that offers members of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA) access to the EU internal market. (dpa)