PWYP Norway invites to an open meeting about EITI in Norway on the 2nd of June. The meeting is organised in relation to the EITI Board Meeting that takes place in Oslo. A key question for PWYP Norway is: What should be the way forward for EITI in Norway?
Norway has been producing EITI reports for seven years without deviation. At the same time new requirements have been included in the EITI and more countries have joined the initiative. PWYP Norway would therefore like to invite you to a discussion about what the way forward should be for this transparency initiative. What is included in the new EITI standard? Will any of this affect the decision to mainstream EITI in Norway? Are there other transparency mechanisms that we should work with in order to ensure a more open and accountable management of oil resources? Can transparency initiatives conflict with each other or will they complement each other?
Jonas Moberg and Sam Barlett from EITI Secretariat will answer the question about mainstreaming EITI in Norway and what this means in practise. Mona Thowsen from PWYP Norway will present the status of extended country-by-country reporting in Norway. The other keynote speakers will be announced soon.
Date and time: 2nd of June, 15:00-17:30
Venue: Quality Hotel Expo (room: Expo 1 & 2), Snarøyveien 20,1360 Fornebu
How to get to the hotel: Take bus number 24, 28, 31 31E or 36 towards Snarøya/Fornebu. Leave the bus at the bus stop called Forbebuparken.
The meeting will be in English.
We hope you will have the opportunity to attend the meeting and contribute to the discussion about what the way forward for EITI in Norway should be.
Sign up here: here.
EITI in Norway: What is the way forward?
Program
| 15:00-15:05 | Welcome PWYP Norway |
| 15:05-15:40 | Panel: Opportunities and challenges for civil society in the EITI. Where should Norway lead the way? Faith Nwadishi, Koyenum Immalah Foundation Nigeria – General overview of the importance of CS in the 2016 Standard Cielo Magno, Bantay Kita – Country experience from the Philippines Moses Kulaba, Governance and Economic Policy Forum - Country experience from Tanzania |
| 15:40-16:05 | Contract transparency in Norway: What can Colombia teach us? Ana Carolina Gonzales Espinosa, Universidad Externado de Colombia – Experience from Colombia Christian Fredrik Michelet, Michelet & Co. – Why it is important? How do we do it in Norway? Carine Smith Ihenacho, Statoil – A company perspective |
| 16:05-16:30 | Mainstreaming in Norway: How would mainstreaming unfold in practice? Jonas Moberg & Sam Bartlett, EITI International Secretariat |
| 16:30-16:45 | What is next for EITI in Norway? Some Reflections and Proposals Guro Slettemark, Transparency International Norway Frian Aarsnes, PWYP Norway |
| 16:45-17:10 | EITI vs. other transparency initiatives: Status of extended country-by-country reporting in Norway Mona Thowsen, PWYP Norway |
| 17:10-17:25 | Global outlook: Challenges and opportunities for EITI in the future. What should be the role of countries like Norway? Daniel Kaufman, Natural Resource Governance Institute |
| 17:25-17:30 | Concluding remarks PWYP Norway |
EITI is a transparency standard
An EITI process is a national process for transparency of the cash flow from natural resources. EITI is a transparency standard which requires that companies publish how much they pay authorities, and that authorities declare how much they receive. This information is then combined in an EITI report. As of today, Norway is considered "Compliant" with this transparency standard, which is based on a three party cooperation between state, companies and civil society.
Mainstreaming
Mainstreaming is a term used by EITI. It was used in board meetings in the international EITI-board in Brazzaville in April and in Bern in October. There the board recognized the importance of mainstreaming EITI into national systems.
This is a type of question which was brought up during the upstart of EITI. It means that transparency is an inherent good and should be the norm. Rather than having a special process (where the stakeholder group, authorities, and civil society along with an external compilation from Deloitte, should produce the information), existing systems in the country itself produces the information which is needed for an EITI implementation.
There are more transparency standards
There are several transparency standards that can do something about the various forms of secrecy that exists today. During the meeting Mona Thowsen, Secretary General in PWYP Norway, will update on how far we have come with an extended country-by-country reporting in Norway.
The companies can utilize a whole toolbox of secrecy mechanisms in order to hide the cash flow before they ever become accountable for taxation. They can engage in tax evasion, well protected by secrecy. PWYP Norway is therefore working for the establishment of laws for extended country-by-country reporting in all countries, including Norway. An extended country-by-country reporting will reveal how companies´ investments, production, income, costs, and taxes are distributed in the various countries. It will reveal unwanted tax adjustments.
For more information, see PWYP Norway's report here.