According to Nina Gran from KS, Norwegian municipalities are not on track to meet the refugee resettlement goal of 13,000 for the year. As of now, only a little over 200 out of 332 municipalities have reported their decisions regarding the settlement of refugees, despite the deadline having passed on February 10. Gran indicated that the current assessments show that it is already evident that the target will not be reached, although the extent of the shortfall is yet to be determined as more responses come in.

Gran also highlighted that disagreements over the issue among municipalities are more pronounced than before, with many local governments citing economic reasons for their reluctance to participate effectively. The current state framework only covers about 90 percent of the costs associated with resettlement, which leads some municipalities to reevaluate their capacity to host refugees. Larger cities like Oslo, Stavanger, and Trondheim have agreed to accept the number of refugees requested, while some smaller municipalities have opted to decline the total requests altogether.

The implications of these trends are significant, as they reflect underlying tensions between state policies and local administrative realities regarding refugee support. If more municipalities do not adopt sufficient resolutions to settle the refugees, it could lead to a greater national crisis, impacting thousands of individuals seeking asylum in Norway and placing additional strain on the already stretched government resources.