This month the Norwegian-Romanian Chamber of Commerce and the Norwegian-Polish Chamber of Commerce have worked together with lawyer Preben Kløvfjell from Tveter og Kløvfjell AS in order to lodge a complaint on their behalf with the EFTA Surveillance Authority – ESA. Professor Mads Andenæs at the University of Oslo was in support of the said complaint.
The complaint regarded the disproportionately hard effects that members of both Chambers of Commerce faced due to the measures taken by the Norwegian authorities to limit the spread of the virus.
We underlined that several Romanian and Polish citizens, as well as a number of companies, have been affected by the Norwegian authorities’ strict entry legislation in connection with the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. The consequences for our members have included:
* Deportation from Norway when not registered in the ‘Folkeregister’,
* Compulsory stays in a quarantine hotel,
* Employers have not got their employees back,
* Workers have lost their opportunity to work in Norway,
* Workers and families, including children, have not seen each other for several months.
ESA announced that they have performed investigations and that Norwegian authorities have violated the EEA Agreement regarding the freedom of movement. The Norwegian government has six weeks to express its views before ESA decides whether to take the case further.
Read the ESA update here: https://www.eftasurv.int/newsroom/updates/covid-19-pandemic-esa-asks-norway-align-entry-restrictions-eea-rules