Background information

The war in Ukraine and the sanctions against Russia has caused problems for businesses trading with Russia. On 18 March 2022, the Government presented crisis measures for the business community in East Finnmark. Troms og Finnmark county in the north of Norway that borders Russia. Russia's warfare in Ukraine and the accompanying sanctions have created uncertainty for the business community in East Finnmark. The scope of Norwegian companies' trade with Russia is limited, but some companies, especially in East Finnmark, can be hit hard by the sanctions. The government regards settlement and activities in East Finnmark as important for the region and for Norwegian security policy. The government has proposed two measures to help with the situation.

Content of measure

The crisis measures aimed at supporting business in East Finnmark consists of two measures:

1. District-oriented instruments. The government has proposed to allocate NOK 50 million (€5 million) to Troms and Finnmark county municipalities, which will strengthen the existing district-oriented instruments managed by Innovation Norway and Siva (Siva - The company for industrial growth - is a state-owned enterprise that develops, owns, and finances a national infrastructure for innovation and business development). The counties can allocate funds to municipal business funds in the affected municipalities. The funds can be used for skills development.
2. Low-risk loans managed by Innovation Norway are used to part-finance investments in buildings and operating equipment, including fishing vessels and investments in agriculture. An increase as a one-off measure in 2022, of NOK 500 million (€50 million), will be used to assist the industries that have been hit hard by the crisis and will be aimed at companies in East Finnmark. Low-risk loans are granted on market terms and the interest rate is adapted to the market and priced individually. The loan scheme may be a relevant source of capital for companies with development and restructuring projects in East Finnmark and may be included in co-financing with loans from private banks.

Use of measure

No information.

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Applies to all businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Consulted	Unknown
Form	Unknown	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Unknown
• Main level of involvement: Regional or local level

Involvement

There is no information on social partners direct involvement in the creation of the measures, but both the local business community and the local unions voiced a need for public measures to protect employment. On 7 April the head of Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), Peggy Hessen Følsvik, said that feedback from the community in Kirkenes was useful to the dialog LO has with the government. “My impression is that the government has so far listened to both us and the business actors who have been affected and has been quickly on deck with several crisis packages”, she said.

Views and reactions

The social partners are supportive of the measure. However, some local companies find the proposed measures not to cover their needs. A shipyard repairing Russian ships can not receive payment due to halted money transfer. A wage compensation scheme or a payment guarantee would make it easier to secure employment, the CFO at the shipyard argued.

Sources

• 18 March 2022: Crisis package for the business community in East Finnmark (www.regjeringen.no)
• 18 March 2022: Here is the crisis package for East Finnmark (frifagbevegelse.no)
• 01 April 2022: This is how the support schemes for companies with high exposure to Russia become (www.regjeringen.no)
• 06 April 2022: The yard has the Russian fishing fleet as its main market. (frifagbevegelse.no)