What has happened in Norway?

*2012* "The Ministry of Finance sent the EU proposal on a hearing in Norway":http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fin/dok/hoeringer/hoeringsdok/2011/horing---forslag-til-bestemmelser-om-lan/horingsbrev.html?id=665687. PWYP Norway submitted its "hearing submission in 2012":http://pwyp.no/en/pwyp-norges-hoeringsinnspill-i-forbindelse-med-land-land-rappportering-i-norge, with a "report with concrete proposal on extended requirements for a country by country reporting standard":http://pwyp.no/en/extended-country-country-reporting-standard-policy-proposal-eu in addition to several background reports and a "3-minutes briefing on how the reporting can be summed up in 1 column i an Excel-sheet.":http://pwyp.no/en/extended-country-country-reporting-3-minute-version The investor "KLP supported the proposal and wrote to the EU":http://pwyp.no/sites/all/files/letterofsupport280312.pdf . The same did "over half a million representatives in workers unions":http://pwyp.no/sites/all/files/LetterofSupportExtendedCBCR_NorwegianUnions.pdf. After this hearing round, the Ministry of Finance appointed a working group which was mandated with exploring possible extended requirements for a country by country reporting standard which would go beyond the EU. *2013* The Ministry of FInance appointed the 13th Desember 2012 a working group tasked to examine the introduction of «country-by-country reporting» (CCR) requirements under Norwegian law. The mandate stipulated that the working group should operate on the assumption that the CCR provisions proposed by the EU Commission in the new consolidated financial reporting directive are adopted and incorporated into the EEA Agreement, under which assumption the said provisions would have to be implemented in Norwegian law. During the mandate period of the working group, agreement was reached between the Commission, the European Parliament and the European Council on a compromise proposal for a new consolidated financial reporting directive. The compromise wording has been taken into account in the discussions of the working group. The 30th April the working group made public its report with its recommendations for which requirement it would recommend under Norwegian law. The working group has recommended the introduction of «country-by-country reporting» requirements under Norwegian law for «large undertakings», as defined by the thresholds proposed by the EU, and undertakings whose securities are listed and whose business interests include extractive industries or forestry. The working group has recommended somewhat more comprehensive reporting than is implied by the EU CCR provisions. In addition to the reporting of payments to governments, the working group recommends that reporting requirements be expanded to also include the reporting of investments, sales income, production volumes, purchases of goods and services, as well as number of employees, specified by each country in which the undertaking is engaged in business activities. Since payments to governments are thereby presented in a broader context, the working group believes that CCR users will be better placed to exercise democratic control over cash flows between undertakings and governments in those countries where business activities take place. The working group also recommends that reporting entities be required to disclose information relating to their subsidiaries, as well as information concerning where the various subsidiaries are domiciled. The working group is of the view that such expanded reporting may contribute to realising the Government’s anti-corruption and, subsequently, anti-tax evasion objectives, whilst the administrative burdens entailed by such reporting are deemed to be acceptable. The Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee "supported":http://pwyp.no/en/utenriks-og-forsvarskomiteen-stotter-utvidede-krav-til-land-land-rapportering extended requirements for CBCR". The Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee noted that: "_A societys trust, openness and transparency and respect for human rights is connected. Trust between people, trust between parties in working life, trust to and between politicians and trust between buyer and seller crates a better and more sustainable economic growth._" _“The Committee points to that democracies are weak in many countries. it can be hard for ordinary people to hold their governments to account for their actions, and ordinary people does not have access to formal or informal power. In addition, access to resources, welfare, power and human development is different for different groups”._ The Ministry of Finance wrote in its “press release”: http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fin/aktuelt/nyheter/2013/rapport-om-land-for-land-rapportering/pressemelding-fra-arbeidsgruppen.html?id=725989 that: “CBCR shall contribute to make clear extraction of natural resources naturressurser in the extractive industry and the financial flows attached to such extraction and thereby create greater transparency and control with the financial flows. The working group was asked to emphasise that requirements to CBCR should be formed in a way so that they relatively give greatest use in the Governments goals to fight corruption and tax avoidance, measured against the administrative burdens such reporting requirements will have for the companies.“ The Ministry of Finance sent out a "hearingletter":http://www.regjeringen.no/nb/dep/fin/dok/hoeringer/hoeringsdok/2013/horing---rapport-om-land-for-land-rappor/horingsbrev.html?id=726756 den 7.5.13 together with "the working groups report":http://www.regjeringen.no/pages/38324717/rapport.pdf. The hearing period: 7.5.13 – 2-8.13.