Freedom of Movement Council prioritises tax issues in 2024
Anders Ahnlid leder Gränshinderrådets kickoff i Köpenhamn februari 2024.
The Freedom of Movement Council held a kickoff meeting in Copenhagen on 22–23 February 2024, chaired by Anders Ahnlid.
The main conclusion of a report commissioned by the Council last year was that the Nordic tax treaty needs to be simplified to improve the free movement of labour. Building support for the proposal at national level will be one of the most important tasks for the Council this year.
“The Freedom of Movement Council exists to improve cross-border mobility for both businesses and individuals in the Nordic Region. An important part of this work is to create a flexible Nordic labour market with as few bureaucratic obstacles to movement as possible for both employers and employees. The tax report contains concrete proposals on how to do this, and it’s important that we strive to make those proposals a reality,” says Anders Ahnlid, chair of the Freedom of Movement Council in 2024.
Work on the report is also an important step towards realising the vision of the Nordic Region as the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030.
Tax will not be the only issue on the agenda this year, as the meeting also identified Nordic co-operation on national registration systems, digitalisation, pension issues and cross-border statistics as other priorities.
Sweden prioritises freedom of movement
Jessika Roswall, the Swedish chair of the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation in 2024, presented Sweden’s programme for the Presidency of the Nordic Council of Ministers at the meeting.
The Freedom of Movement Council noted with great interest that cross-border mobility is one of Sweden’s top priorities in 2024.
“It is a very welcome sign that the Presidency is prioritising this area of work so highly and that Sweden wants to pick up the pace. We hope to make the most of that,” says Ahnlid.
It promises to be an interesting year for the Council and its work in general. A study of all of the work done on freedom of movement will be conducted to look at ways of making it more effective. Based on the results of the study, the Council will look at the mandate that governs how it and the national governments work on issues related to freedom of movement.
