Latest News from Local Norway
Local Norway
19 hours ago
- Politics
- Local Norway
Norway's parliament to debate permanent residence rule changes
If the bill goes through, applicants for permanent residency will no longer need to document that they have completed mandatory training in Norwegian language and social studies up to the most elementary A1 level, according to the Common European Framework of Reference for Languages (CEFR). READ ALSO: How changes to Norway's requirements for permanent residence will affect you Instead, they will need to take a test proving that they can speak Norwegian at the slightly more advanced A2 level, which is defined as the point at which people can understand everyday language and express themselves on basic topics. The changes are scheduled to be debated on Friday, June 6th, with the date of the final vote not yet decided on by the parliament. Advertisement The rules won't apply to those in Norway under the EEA rules, as they instead get the right of permanent residence, which is slightly different. The law change will also introduce new limits to family reunification for immigrants with more than one wife and clarifies the legal basis for financial support for return or repatriation.
Local Norway
19 hours ago
- Automotive
- Local Norway
Tesla bucks trend in Norway with rising sales
Norwegians have flocked back to the US brand as it offered zero-interest loans and a new Model Y, the best-selling car in the country for three months running. Norway is the country with the highest proportion of election vehicles (EV), making up 93.9 percent of new car registrations in May, according to the Norwegian Road Federation (OFV). EVs made up 92.7 percent of new car registrations in the first five months of the year. Tesla regained the title of leading car brand in the Scandinavian country in May, tripling its sales and accounting for 18.2 percent of new cars sold. For the first five months of the year, Tesla sales increased by 8.3 percent -- lower than the overall new car market which grew by 30.6 percent. Advertisement Over that period, Tesla had a market share of 12.9 percent, second to German auto giant Volkswagen. Tesla sales fell by half in the European Union in April, according to the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA). The company's EU market share dropped to 1.1 percent amid growing competition from Chinese rivals and consumers protesting Musk's politics and ties to US President Donald Trump. "Looking at Tesla sales in Norway in May and for the year so far, we stand out from the rest of Europe, where sales of this brand have seen a noticeable decline," OFV director Øyvind Solberg Thorsen said in a statement. Jonathan Parr, an analyst at used-car dealer Rebil, told broadcaster TV2 that "ultimately, it's the price that Norwegian motorists care about most." "Norwegians don't like Musk but feel no shame owning a Tesla," Parr explained. In recent months, Norwegian media have nonetheless reported several stories of Tesla owners deciding to part ways with their cars or refrain from buying another Tesla. Norway, the largest oil producer in Western Europe, has adopted a goal that this year all new cars should be zero-emission vehicles.
Local Norway
a day ago
- Business
- Local Norway
'Oil corrupts everything': Norway blasted as 'object lesson in hypocrisy'
The Norway Paradox, or Norgeparadoxen , published last month by the leading Swedish investigative journalist Lisa Röstlund, takes a critical look at Norway's claims to be a forerunner in the green transition while continuing to be a major oil and gas producer. "It means that oil corrupts the whole country," Röstlund told Swedish public broadcaster SVT in an interview . "Oil seeps into everything. A large part of the welfare bill is paid by the oil fund. Research, art, culture and sport are often sponsored by oil companies, like the new opera house in Oslo, or the Munch Museum," she said. Röstlund, a journalist for Dagens Nyheter, previously published Skogslandet , a prize-winning investigation of Sweden's forestry industry. The Swedish journalist Lina Röstlund has accused Norway of being "an object lesson in the West's hypocrisy" in a new book. Photo: In her new book, which is part travelogue, part investigation, she shows how Norwegians at all levels of society turn a collective blind eye to the country's dependence on the oil and gas industry. "You really notice that very few people raise their voice against oil, even among researchers," she said. "You can talk about the climate crisis and its consequences in general, but no one turns their gaze onto their own industry." Advertisement She paints a picture of a country where the new wind power developments trumpeted as part of the green transition are then used to pump out more oil and gas, where the number of climate deniers per capita is second only to the US, and where the oil fund invests in fracking companies in the US. Equinor, the state oil company, is continuing to push ahead with new oil and gas developments. This is despite the International Energy Agency concluding in its 2021 Net-zero by 2050 report that no new oil and gas fields should be approved for development after 2021 if the world is to limit global warming to the safe level of 1.5C. The book has already received some pushback in Norway. The Norwegian journalist Hilde Sandvik accused Röstlund of "not fully acknowledging the complexity" of Norway's situation. "Of course it's easy to accuse Norway of having double standards," Sandvik said in the Norsken, Svensken og Dansken podcast. "We've been doing very nicely out of oil for 50 years and we are still living off something that both Europe and the rest of the Nordics are dependent on." But the book, she said, glossed over the fact that Swedish businesses and consumers, and those in Europe as a whole, are also dependent on Norwegian oil and gas, particularly since the invasion of Ukraine made them reluctant to rely on supplies from Russia. Author Röstlund does acknowledges this in the introduction her book, recognising that the entire western world remains heavily dependent on fossil fuels, so Norway is by no means uniquely hypocritical. Advertisement "Nonetheless, I ask myself whether the elephant in the room, which is there in all rich countries, is not most conspicuous in Norway, if it does not have the sharpest contours there," she continues. "The Norwegian elephant in the room is a fantastic object for anyone who wants to study the hypocrisy of the self-congratulating West." She also pre-empts the criticism that she, like many Swedes, simply feels envious of her country's richer Nordic neighbour. "Am I writing this book because I am jealous?" she asks in the intro. "Yes, maybe."
Local Norway
4 days ago
- Business
- Local Norway
Norway plans randomly selected tax cuts for young people
The tax cuts will be given to those born between 1990 and 2005 and apply to workers who earn less than 647,500 kroner a year. The aim of the scheme is to trial whether lower taxes result in higher employment, which groups are incentivised by the tax breaks, and how much extra they work as a result. 'We do it because we need knowledge,' Minister of Finance Jens Stoltenberg said. 'We spend a lot of money on things we are unsure of the effect of. And there is uncertainty and professional disagreement about what works and what doesn't work. Now we can get the knowledge to decide that,' he added. At most workers will save 27,500 kroner a year on their taxes, this will apply to those who earn between 326,000 kroner and 335,000 kroner a year. The more those selected to receive the tax cuts earn, the lower the tax break. The proposal has been sent out for consultation and could be adopted in the autumn if the government decides to carry out the experiment. Estimates from the finance ministry suggest the scheme will cost 500 million kroner per year. Advertisement Successive Norwegian governments have tried to tackle rising social security payments and a shortage of workers in key sectors with various measures. Stoltenberg pointed to the increase in the number of young people who receive disability benefits today compared to when he was previously finance minister in 1996. He said the scheme meant the government could avoid making cuts to the welfare state by making work more profitable. Critics have referred to the scheme as a lottery, and leader of the Conservative Party Erna Solberg said that a tax break should apply to all young people to encourage greater participation in working life.
Local Norway
6 days ago
- Local Norway
Oslo airport passengers warned of queues ahead of busy travel days
Thursday is a public holiday for Ascension Day in Norway, and many people book the Friday off to get a four-day weekend. 'Over 85,000 travellers are expected to pass through Oslo Airport. This is on par with the numbers we see during the summer holidays,' Carita Storm Røsaasen, press officer at Avinor, told public broadcaster NRK on Wednesday. Travellers have been told to use the airline's recommended check-in time. Long queues have been increasingly common at Oslo Gardermoen in recent weeks. Avinor has said some recent long queues have been due to the training of staff who will work at the airport over the summer. Advertisement 'On very busy days like today and tomorrow, you may have to wait in line for 15–20 minutes,' Storm Røsaasen said. The airport has also had issues with a lack of staff in recent weeks. However, Røsaasen said that staffing levels at the airport looked good ahead of a busy few days at the airport.
