ESG Global Vision

Financial reporting

Entry into force 15.10.2018

Last modified 01.07.2021

All who are covered by section 4 of the Act, and by law are required to report to the Norwegian authorities.

Banks and other entities who provides financial services. The law  also applies to  other physical and legal entities conducting certain professions (such as lawyers, real estate agents, accountants etc.)

The law seeks to counteract money laundering and terrorist financing in financial institutions, and imposes a reporting obligation on the institutions covered by the law. The law follows up Directive (EU) 2015/849.

Financial reporting

Entry into force: 01.01.1999

Companies defined as “large enterprises” in section 1-5 of the Act. Large enterprises are defined as Norwegian public limited companies, other accountable entities listed on Norwegian or foreign regulated market places, or entities as listed in administrative regulation section 1-1 (banks, mortgage companies, other financial enterprises)

The Accounting Act requires the entities in question to report on matters concerning ESG in connection with the company’s annual report. The Act lists certain minimum requirements regarding the report, and also states certain exemptions from the reporting obligation.

Corporate governance policy

Entry into force: 01.01.1999

Norwegian public limited companies

In accordance with section 6-11a of the Act any public limited company shall have a minimum of representation of both genders in the board of the company.

Corporate governance

In force

Private limited companies where the local and regional government owns more than 2/3 of the stocks.

Any such private limited company shall have a minimum of representation of both genders in the board of the company.

Taxonomy, sustainable finance, sustainability reporting

Entry into force: 

The regulation was adopted as Norwegian law by parliament in December 2021, and is awaiting implementation.

• large and listed companies subject to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) (see here for more detail);
• financial market participants subject to the Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) (see here for more detail); and
• EU member states and public authorities.

Although compliance with the Taxonomy is obligatory only for in scope entities, a growing number of smaller enterprises and companies voluntarily adhere to the Taxonomy’s principles.  Reasons for voluntary compliance might be to align with competitors, to future-proof against regulatory changes or to meet investor expectations when looking for finance.   

The Taxonomy forms part of the “European Green Deal”, a set of policy initiatives designed to make the EU climate neutral by 2050.  The Taxonomy establishes criteria “for determining whether an economic activity qualifies as environmentally sustainable for the purposes of establishing the degree to which an investment is environmentally sustainable”. This information is aimed at helping investors to make informed sustainable investment decisions and also to address greenwashing risks.  

The implementation of the Taxonomy was, at least in part, in response to concerns from investors, regulators, and companies, that terms such as ‘green’, ‘sustainable’, or ‘environmental’ were inconsistently and incorrectly applied to investment products and economic activities, to the detriment of both investors and the environmental objectives of the Green Deal.  The Taxonomy is intended to provide common definitions which can be used across the sustainable finance framework.

The Taxonomy sets out four overarching conditions that must be met for an economic activity to qualify as environmentally sustainable.  To qualify, an activity must:

1. substantially contribute to at least one environmental objective (see further below);
2. do no significant harm to any of the other environmental objectives;
3. comply with the minimum safeguards set out in Article 18 (alignment with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights); and
4. comply with the technical screening criteria (“TSC”).

The six environmental objectives under the Taxonomy are:

1. climate change mitigation;
2. climate change adaptation;
3. the sustainable use and protection of water and marine resources;
4. the transition to a circular economy;
5. pollution prevention and control; and
6. the protection and restoration of biodiversity and ecosystems.

Delegated Regulations

The following are relevant to the EU Taxonomy, and help to define and particularise its terms and requirements.  The full detail of the Delegated Regulations is beyond the scope of this note but the links below direct to certain of the underlying legislation and further information. 

• Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2139): in force since 1 January 2022 (as amended);
• Taxonomy Environmental Delegated Act (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2023/2486) in force since 1 January 2024;
• Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2021/2178) in force since 1 January 2024; and
• Final Commission Notice (C/2025/1373 dated 5 March 2025) on the interpretation and implementation of certain legal provisions of the EU Taxonomy Environmental Delegated Act, the EU Taxonomy Climate Delegated Act and the EU Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act (Taxonomy FAQs).

On 27 June 2023, the Commission announced its latest sustainable finance package, which included adoption of new technical screening criteria for:

1. activities contributing to the non-climate environmental objectives; and
2. activities relating to new economic sectors.

More detail can be found on the delegated regulations here.

Reporting Requirements

The Taxonomy requires in-scope entities to report on the extent to which their activities are Taxonomy-aligned. The reporting requirements are specified in the Taxonomy Disclosures Delegated Act (adopted in July 2021), which sets out the content, methodology and presentation of information to be disclosed by non-financial and financial entities subject to the CSRD. The Act set outs key performance indicators (KPIs) related to turnover, capital expenditure and operational expenditures for non-financial companies who must then report what percentage of the KPIs are copied to the Taxonomy-aligned economic activities. In addition, the Act sets out specific indicators for asset managers, banks and insurance companies that will need to disclose the proportion of taxonomy-aligned economic activities in their financial activities. For more detail see here.

Recent developments

Proposals for change in the EU omnibus simplification package

In response to competitiveness concerns, on 26 February 2025, the European Commission proposed a number of amendments to the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CS3D), the Taxonomy Regulation (EU Taxonomy) and the Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM).  These proposals, referred together as the “omnibus simplification package”, are intended to simplify and eliminate overlaps and contradictions in sustainability reporting and due diligence and form part of a wider simplification process for EU legislation.

Please see a summary of the Commission’s proposals in our briefing here. To confirm, the Commission’s omnibus proposals are not automatically in force, but instead will require tri-partite agreement between the Council and the European Parliament. The EU Council announced their final negotiation position on 23 June 2025, whereas the EU Parliament are due to hold the plenary voting to finalise their negotiation position in October 2025. Once the EU Parliament have established their agreed position, then the three co-legislators will move to tri-partite negotiations before agreeing to a final form of legislative amendments. As such, it remains to be seen what the final form of the Omnibus package will be. For recent updates on its progress, see our briefings here.

Proposed changes to EU Taxonomy Delegated Acts

As part of the Commission’s proposed omnibus amendments, on 26 Feb 2025 it also published a draft delegated act amending the Taxonomy Disclosures, Climate and Environmental Delegated Acts.  On 4 July 2025, the Commission adopted the delegated act. The delegated act is not yet in force.

The main simplification measures comprise of provisions that: 

• financial and non-financial companies are exempt from assessing Taxonomy-eligibility and alignment for economic activities that are not financially material for their business. For non-financial companies, activities are considered non-material if they account for less than 10% of a company's total revenue, capital expenditure (CapEx) or operational expenditure (OpEx);
• non-financial companies are also exempt from assessing Taxonomy alignment for their entire OpEx when it is considered non-material for their business model;
• for financial companies, key performance indicators (KPIs) like the green asset ratio (GAR) for banks are simplified and they are granted an option not to report detailed Taxonomy KPIs for two years;
• taxonomy reporting templates are streamlined by cutting the number of reported data points by 64% for non-financial companies and by 89% for financial companies; and
• the criteria for ‘do no significant harm' to pollution prevention and control related to the use and presence of chemicals are simplified. 

Next, the European Parliament and Council will scrutinise the delegated act for four months (extendable to six months) and the amendments will apply once the scrutiny period is over. The simplification measures laid out in the delegated act will apply as of 1 January 2026 and will cover the 2025 financial year.

Enforcement and penalties 

Article 22 of the Taxonomy states that ”Member States shall lay down the rules on measures and penalties applicable to infringements of Articles 5,6 and 7. The measures and penalties provided for shall be effective, proportionate and dissuasive.” Therefore, the national law and regulator within each EU Member State jurisdiction should be consulted to determine the exact consequences of non-compliance.

Financial reporting

Not yet in force

The regulation was adopted as norwegian law by parliament in December 2021, and is awaiting implementation.

Financial advisers and financial market participants

The SFDR is part of the EU Commission’s “Action Plan on Sustainable Growth”, and is intended to complement the EU Taxonomy Regulations and the EU Regulatory Technical Standards. The SFDR is designed to enable investors and consumers to make informed investment decisions with respect to the ESG credentials of the funds, assets, or products they are investing in/purchasing, with a view to investors making decisions that contribute to sustainable growth in the financial sector. It is hoped that its adoption will provide clarity and consistency as to the language used by FMPs when selling investment products, especially those described as ‘sustainable’ or ‘ESG focused’, or a number of other adjacent terms. In particular, the Commission hopes to eliminate ‘greenwashing’ from the investment landscape, and force FMPs to make undertake proper due diligence as to the nature of the underlying products they are selling and/or providing.

Product level classification

The SFDR requires FMPs, whenever they are offering financial products purporting to be one of the below, to make certain disclosures as to the natures of the relevant products, which will either fall into Articles 8 or 9 of the Regulation:

• Those promoting environmental and/or social characteristics, and those for which the investee company follows ‘good governance practices’ (Article 8 products)
  • The Regulation does not specifically define ‘environmental and/or social characteristics’, nor ‘good governance practices’, but gives a number of examples of activities that would be regarded as contributing to each area. 
• Those having sustainable investments as an objective (Article 9 products)
• Sustainable investments products specifically relating to carbon emissions reductions (Article 9(3) products).

The mandatory disclosure requirements for FMPs to promote Article 8 and Article 9 products differ substantially, with Article 9 products subject to more stringent disclosure obligations.  Distinguishing between Article 8 and Article 9 products is critical for FMPs to ensure they adhere to the requirements of the SFDR.  The disclosure rules are complex, with disclosure at a granular level required, particularly for Article 9 companies, the detail of which is beyond the scope of this note. For more information, see details of the regulation here.

Firm level classification

Article 3 of the Regulation also requires in scope entities/individuals to publish, on their website, three broad categories of information in relation to the integration of sustainability risks into their investment process, both at the firm and product levels:

1. Principal adverse impact (Article 4) - how investments might create or lead to possible adverse impacts in relation to a range of sustainability factors.  This requirement is by far and away the hardest and most complicated for firms to navigate, as it requires access to detailed ESG data, which most firms do not generate during the normal course of their business.  A notable feature of Article 4 is the requirement to explain the provenance of the ESG data, or, where data is unavailable, explain why the data is unavailable, and provide best estimates in its place. 

Under this heading, in-scope companies must report on 14 different sustainability related factors, ranging across a spectrum of ESG risks.

Included in this is the key requirement for in scope entities to understand and report on the Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions for companies they have invested in.  As detailed elsewhere on the GVT, Scope 1 emissions are those directly produced by the company, Scope 2 emissions are those produced by energy it purchases for its direct use (for example, the emissions deriving from the purchase of electricity), and Scope 3 emissions are those for which the company is responsible for up and down its value chain. For FMPs, the vast majority of their emissions will be categorised as Scope 3, given their economic activities do not involve energy intensive means of production.

Scope 3 emissions are also the most difficult to track and assess. For more information on Scope 1/2/3 emissions measuring, see here.

2. Remuneration (Article 5) – in scope FMPs must publish a statement stating how sustainability risks are taken into account in their remuneration policy. 

3. Sustainability risk policy (Article 6) - how ESG risk is considered in the investment process and how these risks are taken into account in any and all investment decisions. This must detail the ‘likely impacts’ of those risks on the returns of the products they are providing or advising on.  Even in circumstances where there are no risks identified, or where the risks are ‘not relevant’, FMPs must make clear why these risks are not relevant.

These Article 4-6 disclosures must be made:

• in the relevant documentation for a specific financial product; and
• on the FMP’s website.

Comply or explain policy

Under the comply or explain rule, if an FMP does not consider the ESG/sustainability impact(s) of its decisions/investments, it must publish a statement this effect on their website and give clear and detailed reasons for failing to comply with the requirement under the Regulation.

The Regulation may also require additional disclosure of sustainability information in relation to certain financial products purporting to promote ESG objectives.

Stakeholder consultation

In late 2023, the Commission launched a consultation through which stakeholders could provide feedback on the implementation of the SFDR, alongside their suggestions for future changes/amendments. On 3 May 2024 the Commission published a summary of the responses received, which highlighted the need to ensure consistency across EU sustainability regulation and legislation, as well as providing clarity on the exact disclosures required under the SFDR. For more detail, please see the summary here, as well as this article. It is anticipated that further consultations will follow.

For more information generally, please see these articles (and this analysis piece):

• European Commission seeks industry views in SFDR target consultation
• EU Sustainable Finance Package and development in EU Taxonomy and SFDR interactions
• European Supervisory Authorities update consolidated Q&As on the SFDR
• EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation and EU Taxonomy: Regulatory Technical Standards Update
• European Supervisory Authorities (ESAs) update consolidated Q&As on the SFDR

Financial reporting and sustainability reporting

Entry into force: 30.04.20

Administrators of benchmarks other than interest rate and FX benchmarks

• Regulation (EU) 2016/1011, known as the “Benchmarks Regulation”, defines a benchmark as ‘any index by reference to which the amount payable under a financial instrument or a financial contract, or the value of a financial instrument, is determined, or an index that is used to measure the performance of an investment fund with the purpose of tracking the return of such index or defining the asset allocation of a portfolio or of computing the performance fees’.
• The Benchmarks Regulation defines an ‘administrator’ as ‘a natural or legal person that has control over the provision of a benchmark’.

The LCBR is a key part of the European Commission’s action plan for financing EU sustainable growth, published in March 2018. The LCBR amends the Benchmarks Regulation. Its stated aim is to ‘contribute to increasing transparency and … help prevent greenwashing’ by enabling users of benchmarks to ‘identify the extent to which the methodology of the benchmark administrators takes into account ESG factors’.

The LCBR is intended to ensure an adequate level of harmonisation across the EU by enhancing the ESG transparency of benchmarks and imposing a minimum content of disclosure obligations for low carbon benchmarks, which will enable investors to make well-informed choices. The EU believes that such a framework will enable the reorientation of capital flows towards sustainable investment and ultimately the transition to a climate neutral economy.

The LCBR makes three significant changes to the Benchmarks Regulation, namely the introduction of:

1. two new climate related benchmarks:
   1. the EU Climate Transition Benchmark (the “EU CTB”) which is defined as a benchmark that fulfils the following requirements:
      1. its underlying assets are selected, weighted, or excluded in such a manner that the resulting benchmark portfolio is on a ‘decarbonisation trajectory’ (defined as a ‘measurable, science-based and time-bound movement towards alignment with the objectives of the Paris Agreement’); and
      2. complies with the minimum standards laid down in the Delegated Acts (see below).
   2. the EU Paris-Aligned Benchmark (the “EU PAB”) which is defined as a benchmark that fulfils the following requirements:
      1. its underlying assets are selected, weighted or excluded in such a manner that the resulting benchmark portfolio’s carbon emissions are aligned with the objectives of the Paris Agreement adopted under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change;
      2. it is construed in accordance with the minimum standards laid down in the Delegated Acts; and
      3. the activities relating to its underlying assets do not significantly harm other environmental, social and governance (ESG) objectives.

2. new requirements for administrators to disclose ESG factors in methodology documents and benchmark statements, including:
   1. benchmark administrators must provide an explanation of how the key elements of the benchmark methodology reflect ESG factors (as of 30 April 2020);
   2. benchmark statements must include an explanation of how ESG factors are reflected in the benchmark provided (as of 30 April 2020), or, if the benchmark does not pursue ESG objectives, it is sufficient to clearly state so;
   3. benchmark statements must include an explanation of how the administrators’ methodology aligns with the target of carbon emission reductions or attains the objectives of the Paris Agreement (as of 31 December 2021); and
   4. for significant equity and bond benchmarks, as well as for EU CTB and EU PAB, benchmark administrators must disclose in their benchmark statements details on whether or not and to what extent a degree of overall alignment with the target of reducing carbon emissions or the attainment of the objectives of the Paris Agreement is ensured in accordance with disclosure rules for financial products.
3. a requirement for all administrators which provide significant benchmarks to endeavour to provide one or more EU Climate Transition benchmarks by 1 January 2022.

Delegated Regulations

The LCBR is complemented by three Delegated Regulations which became effective as of 23 December 2020. They detail the minimum standards for the two types of low carbon benchmarks and mandate the use of specific disclosure templates. The full detail of the Delegated Regulations is beyond the scope of this note but the links below will direct you to the underlying legislation and further information.

• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1816) of 17 July 2020 as regards the explanation in the benchmark statement of how environmental, social and governance factors are reflected in each benchmark provided and published.
• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1817 of 17 July 2020 as regards the minimum content of the explanation on how environmental, social and governance factors are reflected in the benchmark methodology.
• Delegated Regulation (EU) 2020/1818 of 17 July 2020 as regards minimum standards for EU Climate Transition Benchmarks sand EU Paris-aligned Benchmarks.

The Council of the EU has also recently adopted a regulation amending the Benchmarks Regulation. Amongst other changes, it will make the EU CTB and EU PAB requirements less onerous for significant benchmark administrators. Please note that before it takes effect, it must be adopted by the European Parliament. More detail on this regulation can be found here.

Enforcement and penalties:

The LCBR states that Member States will provide for competent authorities to have the power to impose ‘appropriate administrative sanctions and other administrative measures’ in relation to: (i) infringements of the measures described above; and (ii) any failure to cooperate or comply in an investigation or with an inspection or request to investigate such.

Corporate governance policy and financial and non-financial disclosures

In force

Large institutions with securities traded on a regulated market of any EU Member State

Regulation (EU) 2019/876 amending Capital Requirements Regulation includes under article 449a the requirement to disclose prudential information on environmental, social and governance risks, including transition and physical risk, addressed to large institutions with securities traded on a regulated market of any Member State. These disclosure requirements are applicable from June 2022 on an annual basis during the first year and biannually thereinafter. 

Corporate governance policy, financial reporting

Entry into force: 01.07.21

Companies which have their registered office in a Member State (or the UK) and whose shares are admitted to trading on a regulated market situated or operating within a Member State (or the UK).

It is worth noting that there a number of exemptions available for non EU/UK issuers, in circumstances where a company’s compliance with SRD II may come into conflict with other third party transaction related legislation/regulation.

SRD II, which was passed by the European Parliament in 2017, amended the original Shareholders Rights Directive (“SRD I”), which had been in force since 2007.  The original legislation was passed in an attempt to promote “…the exercise of shareholder rights at general meetings of companies with registered offices in the European Union and the shares of which are admitted to training on a regulated market in the EU”.  

The key stated purpose of SRD II is to facilitate, require, and encourage: (i) shareholder engagement; (ii) transparency in relation to shareholder holdings, directors remuneration, and related party transactions; and (iii) ensure that board-level remuneration is sufficiently aligned with company performance and share price. 

The substantive changes brought in by SRD II are to Article 3 of SRD I, requiring Member States to implement secondary legislation providing for enhanced rights and obligations for in scope companies and shareholders in the form of:

• identification (at the request of the relevant entity) of shareholders holding more than 0.5% of the registered share capital of the relevant entity by intermediaries, and that intermediaries communicate the information requested “without delay”. individual Member States have the right to lower this threshold, and the majority of Member States have no threshold (in particular Germany, France, Spain, and the UK);
• disclosure of directors’ remuneration;
• disclosure of related party transactions (the definition of a “related party” is derived from the Internation Financial Reporting Standards (IAS 24));
• further obligations for intermediaries (similar/identical to those imposed on in scope entities), including requirements to:
  • transmit information without delay between companies and shareholders;
  • facilitate the exercise of shareholder rights; and
  • publicly disclose any charges for providing these services.
• facilitation of the exercise of shareholder rights; and
• transparency of institutional investors, asset managers, and proxy advisors.

The EU passed a further Implementing Regulation (EU 2018/1212) on 4 September 2018 (in force from 3 September 2020), the provisions of which set out minimum requirements and formats for information passing between issuers and shareholders.  This was passed in an attempt to standardise these requirements between Member States, and to ensure that stakeholders faced equivalent requirements across Member States, and were not unfairly prejudiced by differing disclosure and administration requirements depending on the location of their registered office(s) within the EU. 

The detail of the implementation of this directive by each Member State is outside the scope of this note, but it is worth noting that the national level legislation is largely consistent across the EU.

Enforcement and penalties

Penalties for non compliance with SRD II vary jurisdiction by jurisdiction. The Directive only states that penalties should be “sufficiently dissuasive and proportionate”.  Penalties are generally financial, e.g. the Italian implementing legislation allows for fines of up to EUR 150,000 for the most serious breaches. 

Corporate governance policy

Not yet in force

The act was passed by parliament in 2020 and are expected to entry into force 01.01.2023.

Anyone who provides financial agreements, such as banking services, credit services, payment services, investment services and pension services.

The law seeks to implement The EEA Agreement – Annex XIX Consumer Protection and The EEA Agreement – Annex IX Financial Services. According to section 1-9 to 1-11 of the Act, the Act is mandatory as long as deviations are not to the benefit of the consumer. The Act applies to everyone who markets or enters into an agreement on financial services in accordance with the law in Norway.

Social policy

Not yet in force

The law was adopted by parliament in June 2021, and is expected to enter into force on the 01.07.22.

Pursuant to section 2, cf. Section 3 of the Act, the Act applies to “larger companies” cf. The Accounting Act 1-5, or meets two of three of the following conditions: (1) sales revenue of NOK 70 million, (2) balance sheet total of NOK 35 million, (3) average number of employees in the financial year of 50 full time equivalent.

And, pursuant to section 2 of the Act, the act applies to companies as described in section 3, either in or outside Norway, which offer goods and services in Norway, and which are taxable under Norwegian legislation.

• The law shall promote companies' respect for fundamental human rights and decent working conditions in connection with the production of goods and the provision of services and ensure the public access to information on how companies deal with negative consequences for basic human rights and decent working conditions, according to the purpose provision of the Act.
• The law sets forth an obligation to carry out due diligence assessments about human rights and working conditions on subcontractors. These assessments shall be published once a year to the public.
• Also, anyone can demand to receive information from the company about how they handle actual and potential negative consequences that have been assessed in the due diligence assessments. The right to information includes both general information about how the company handles negative consequences, and specific information related to goods and services.

Social policy

Entry into force:

16.04.21

Norwegian persons, companies incorporated or constituted under Norwegian law, non-Norwegian companies in respect of any business done in whole or in part within Norway

The law allows the government to impose travel bans and financial sanctions on individuals, entities and bodies (including state and non-state actors) responsible for, involved in or associated with serious human rights violations and abuses worldwide, irrespective of where they occurred.

Social policy

Entry into force: 01.01.2006

Last update was 01.01.2022

The working environment act applies to all businesses using employee relations in their operation. This excludes against independent contractors.

Environmental policy

Entry into force: 01.01.2005

The greenhouse gas emission trading act applies to stationary industrial and aviation activities.

Such stationary industry covered by the law is defined in Administrative regulation on greenhouse gas emission trading section 1-1.

The act corresponds to the European greenhouse gas emission-directive (2003/87/EF), and orders entities to report emissions from their activities to the Norwegian Environment Agency and to purchase the equivalent climate quotas.

Environmental and social policy

Entry into force: 01.01.2009

Norwegian-registered ships and foreign-registered ships without a state agreement, which harvest marine resources on the Norwegian shelf

The law seeks to fulfil a sustainable and socioeconomically profitable management of Norway’s marine resources. The Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries has an overall control responsibility for ensuring that ships that utilize the marine resources act in accordance with the law. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries sets quotas for those who want to utilize biological diversity, and in this way ensure an environmentally oriented utilisation.

Social policy

Entry into force: 01.01.18

All businesses with more than 50 employees

• The equality and discrimination act in general prohibits disproportionate de facto discrimination based on gender, pregnancy, care tasks, ethnicity, religion, philosophy, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, age or a combination of these in all sides of society. Chapter 4 and 5 applies especially for businesses.
• As a part of the regulation the law puts down obligations to establish a systematic plan to identity and counter risk of de facto discrimination in cooperation with the employee representatives. This plan shall be included in the company annual report, cf. § 26 to 26 c, cf. The Accounting Act § 3-3c.

Social policy

Entry into force:

01.02.2010

Last modified:

08.09.2021

Anyone who conducts a college education or vocational college education, and who is subject to Norwegian law

Pursuant to section 2-1 of the regulations, NOKUT (national body for quality in education) shall issue regulations that meet Standards and guidelines for quality assurance in the European Higher Education Area, in accordance with ESG. NOKUT can carry out control inspections of institutions to which the regulations apply to ensure that the ESG standards are satisfactorily met.