In the aftermath of the Nav scandal, the committee proposes several amendments to the Social Security Act to ensure compliance with international agreements.
The law should be amended in many respects to align with Norway's obligations in the EEA and other countries.
This is the main conclusion of the so-called The Coordination Committee for Social Security, which on Tuesday delivered the report "Social security across borders" to the Minister of Labor and Social Affairs, Torbjørn Røe Isaksen (H).
The committee, chaired by law professor Halvard Haukeland Fredriksen from the University of Bergen, identified all the international obligations to which Norway is bound, both EEA regulations, Nordic agreements and a large number of bilateral social security agreements, and what significance they have. for Norwegian social benefits.
This is the first such comprehensive review.
Nav scandal
The report was created after the social security scandal. In 2019, it was revealed that Nav had been misinterpreting for many years practicing EU social security law inappropriately and incorrectly claiming reimbursement of social security benefits or reporting individuals for social security fraud.
The review revealed several discrepancies between Norwegian law and Norway's international obligations. All agreements bring with them special challenges. Fortunately, there is nothing comparable to the Nav case. Nav cannot create new blind spots, warns Fredriksen.
Several amendments to the law on social insurance. Three main things
The Commission proposes three main measures to improve the law and make it easier to understand:
- international agreements and obligations must be defined by law
-residence requirements for sickness, care and work assessment benefits have been changed so that the legal text clearly states that residence in other EEA countries, in non-EEA Nordic countries, in Switzerland and Great Britain are equated with staying in Norway
-Social security legislation includes a number of "indicators" that provide an indication of the impact of EEA law and other international provisions on other benefits.
The Commission is also proposing to prepare a separate guide, of the Trygde-ABC type.
- This report shows that the work is ongoing and the matter is still of high priority. The rules were difficult to understand and difficult to access. Hopefully this will give us a law that will be clearer, better and safer, he says.
The report will now be sent for consultation before being sent to the Storting for consideration, possibly in the fall.
- We are approaching the beginning of the end of this case - says the minister, who also points out that the first criminal cases in the NAV scandal may be resumed before the summer.
The ruling of the Supreme Court in the so-called a pilot case. The resumption of criminal cases due to the social security scandal is pending a verdict.
