Solberg:-Britain have got a good deal

Oslo Prime Minister Erna Solberg: .Photo: Berit Roald / NTB scanpix

The agreement between the EU and the UK means that the UK have got several of their main demands accepted, says Prime Minister Erna Solberg. For Norway, this may mean cuts in child benefit expenditures.

I think they’ve got a good deal, Solberg said to NTB.
One of the demands that the British have gained acceptance for, is that the child benefit paid to EU immigrants has to follow the rates in the EU country where the child lives.
EU legislation is supposed apply to all member states – and also EEA countries like Norway.
– Changes in the EU’s own legislation means we can make legislative changes ourselves, says Solberg.
It probably means sharp cuts in child benefit paid to, among others, Polish workers in Norway with children lving in the homeland. The kind of formal process that will be needed to put this change into motion, however, depends on how the EU will ground the change in the rules in their own legislation.
The protracted tug of war between Britain and other EU was not finished until late Friday night. The British had the new agreement with the EU in place after two days and a long night of negotiations in Brussels.
Now it is up to the British voters to decide whether Britain remain a member of the EU. Saturday,  the date for the referendum, 23 June, was made public.
– This will be a battle for the emotions, says Solberg

 

Source: NTB scanpix / Norway Today