NORWAY Trends and Developments Contributed by: Elin Moen, Arne Torsten Andersen, Helge Stemshaug and Beret Sundet, BAHR
The deadline for the committee to provide its feedback is 1 December 2025. Any changes to the Competition Act will therefore happen during the second half of 2026 at the earliest. Notification regime under the Norwegian National Security Act On 21 February 2025, the government published a proposal for a regulation on the notification regime for foreign investment control under the Norwegian National Security Act. The regulation is intended to clarify and supplement compre - hensive amendments to the notification regime that were adopted by the Parliament in June 2023, which have not yet entered into force. The amendments and proposed regulation detail a comprehensive regime for stricter screening of foreign investments in companies, infrastruc - ture and property deemed to be of importance to national security interests. The initiatives are part of the broader international trend towards stricter investment control and are inspired by regulations such as the EU’s Screening Regula - tion. The amendments that have not yet entered into force include, inter alia, an extension of the enti - ties covered by the notification regime, lower requirements for ownership thresholds, a stand- still obligation until approval by the authority has been obtained, as well as sanctions for failure to comply with notification requirements. The pro - posed regulation sets out, inter alia, the informa - tion requirements for notification, a far-reaching ban on information exchange before clearance, and guidance on the aspects to be considered by the authority in its substantive assessment. It is anticipated that both the June 2023 amend - ments and the recently proposed regulation will enter into force during 2025. The government
has also confirmed that it is working on a pro - posal for a more general Foreign Direct Invest - ment regime in Norway, which eventually will result in two parallel regulations on investment control being applicable. Introduction of the market investigation tool The NCA is set to receive a new market investi - gation tool on 1 July 2025, further broadening its enforcement arsenal. The tool will give the NCA the power to investigate markets or sectors, on its own initiative, and make interventions includ - ing potentially breaking up companies if it iden - tifies structural issues hampering competition. The legislation includes a moratorium preventing the NCA using the tool to break up a company cleared under a merger control decision (either from the NCA or the European Commission) for ten years after the relevant decision. The mora - torium will provide comfort to merging parties and ensure that the NCA does not revisit freshly approved deals too hastily. The adoption of the tool represents a move toward more proactive competition enforce - ment, mirroring developments in other jurisdic - tions where regulators have powers to remedy or restructure markets that exhibit systemic problems. Administrative Changes at the NCA In an unexpected turn of events, the NCA’s Direc - tor General, Ms Tina Søreide, resigned from her position three years before the end of her term. It is apparent from media coverage following Ms Søreide’s resignation, that there was significant internal conflict at the NCA, which led to whistle- blowing against Ms Søreide. From her perspec - tive, the former Director has communicated in various interviews that she led an organisation that proved to be unprepared for transforma -
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