In Sweden, a loophole in the law has enabled extensive choir card fraud. Persons residing in Sweden travel to Romania to obtain a choir card without a choir test.
A revelation from Sveriges Television's (SVT) so-called 'eco-redaction' has uncovered a significant problem with choir card fraud in Sweden. The loophole is also in Denmark.
According to the media, people with residence in Sweden can travel to Romania and be issued a choir card without going through a choir rehearsal that meets the requirements at home in Sweden. EU legislation on free movement then allows them to exchange the Romanian choir card for a Swedish one of its kind.
– This means that people who live in Sweden and go to another EU or EEA country can more easily get a choir card there and thus avoid having to take a Swedish choir test, says Ted Snölilja from the Transport Agency to Sveriges Television .
The system is also abused by criminals who have had their choir cards revoked in Sweden. For approx. DKK 9,000 can buy them a package trip to Romania, where a temporary address and a choir card are arranged.
The news of the choir card fraud has created reactions. The Social Democrat Helene Fritzon calls on the government to take action and proposes a stop to the processing of applications to exchange Romanian choir cards for Swedish ones. The case has also been reported to the EU Commission.
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– The Transport Agency has been working on the issue for some time. They are investigating whether it is possible to refuse to exchange a choir card that has been issued in another EU country, says Infrastructure Minister Andreas Carlsson.
The Transport Agency has now presented proposals to address the problem. One of the proposals involves an amendment to the law which requires that persons wishing to exchange a foreign choir card must either have passed a choir test or have held a choir card for at least five years in the country where the choir card was issued.
– Our hope is that it will drop quite sharply, says Ted Snölilja, investigator at the choir card department at the Transport Agency in Örebro to SVT.
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