Elimination of trade barriers

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– This project has been very beneficial for the business sector in the region. Erik Risberg at Värmlandsåkarna is very pleased with the results of the Interreg project Elimination of trade barriers (‘Röjande av handelshinder’). Previously, hauliers and contractors were near financial ruin each time they were transporting a lorry or a machine across the border for a job in the neighbouring country. Previously, when crossing the border with a SEK 12 million excavator to dig a ditch they had to pay a fee of SEK 3 million! This heavy levy is today a mere memory and the contractors can operate, if not freely, at least a lot easier on the other side of the border. – The old rules certainly inhibited the free movement in the business, says project leader Dan Snell in Karlstad. He can delight in several good results of the Interreg project. – At the start our goal was to eliminate at least two trade barriers – but we achieved five! Simplified VAT rules, deposits, customs clearance, freights and a communal training for contracting machine drivers are results that are welcomed also on a government level. Berit Andnor, Swedish governmentminister and chairwoman of the Nordic government collaboration expresses her appreciation. – Businesses, often in particular small or one-man firms must be able to operate on both sides of the border in a region which can offer job opportunities and activities. I am happy to note that we have taken a few important steps towards facilitating the conditions for commercial drivers, hauliers and contractors to work on either side of the border. The minister also states that the positive results within Interreg provide an excellent model for the regional collaboration within the enlarged EU.

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