Norwegian Government Considering New Legal Provisions for Hosting Ukrainian Refugees

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - The Norwegian government proposed on Friday to introduce emergency powers in the building act as well as in some health care acts to speed up the process of hosting Ukrainian refugees and reduce the pressure on the healthcare system that may result from the influx of migrants.

"An important prerequisite in order to succeed in this regard is that there are sufficient homes for them around the municipalities. It is important that municipalities are given greater freedom to act, so that they can quickly and efficiently find sufficient homes for refugees. The government is therefore proposing to introduce temporary emergency powers in the Planning and Building Act," Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Sigbjorn Gjelsvik said in a statement.

The government proposed, for example, to allow municipalities to expand the area of a school without application, the statement read, adding that new measures will help to ensure the rapid creation of refugee reception facilities.

The proposals, if adopted, will also allow municipalities to grant exemptions for the erection of permanent new homes, the statement noted, adding that the exemption will apply if sufficient homes cannot be found in any other way.

The Norwegian healthcare ministry has also proposed temporary legal provisions to manage the influx of refugees.

"In order to manage the very high number of displaced Ukrainian individuals, the Ministry of Health and Care Services is proposing temporary legal provisions that will enable the government in specific situations to apply exemptions to statutory requirements set out in the Patient and Service User Rights Act, the Specialist Health Services Act and the Health and Care Services Act," a statement by the ministry said.

Under the new proposals, the healthcare system could be exempted from certain rights and duties, including granting patients the right to a review, the right to free choice of treatment, the right to a coordinator or children’s coordinator, and others, but only if it is necessary to reduce the burden on the healthcare system, according to the statement.

"These legislative amendments are being proposed on a temporary basis and will be repealed no later than 1 July 2023," the statement added.

More than 5.4 million refugees have fled Ukraine since the start of Russia’s military operation there on February 24, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency.