On the Edge: Lessons on Good Governance in the Borderlands of EU Law

Abstract

In 2019, it became publicly known that Norwegian social security legislation had been applied in violation of the right to receive services in the internal market and the EU social security coordination regulations. The misapplication had persisted since 1994 and we argue that it could have been discovered earlier if the relevant authorities had conducted analyses of the potential ripple effects of relevant case law, avoided secrecy of their legal opinions, and focused less on “litigation risk” and “wiggle room” in their legal assessments. This article examines what the Norwegian public administration can learn from this scandal, with the aim of also providing lessons relevant to administrative authorities in the EU member states.