EU-kontrollen er gyldig, om enn kontrollfristen er nær.

EU-kontrollen refers to the mandatory vehicle inspection in Norway, similar to a roadworthiness or technical inspection for a car.

Even though it contains EU, this is just the established Norwegian term EU-kontroll. In everyday Norwegian, people commonly use it to talk about the official car inspection.

The ending -en is the definite article attached to the noun.

• en EU-kontroll = an EU inspection
• EU-kontrollen = the EU inspection

Norwegian often adds the directly to the end of the noun instead of using a separate word like English does.

Gyldig means valid.

In this sentence, er gyldig means is valid. It describes the status of the inspection: the inspection still counts as legally valid.

Grammatically, gyldig is a predicate adjective here, because it comes after er and describes the subject EU-kontrollen.

Om enn means something like although, even though, or albeit.

So:

• om enn kontrollfristen er nær = although the inspection deadline is near

This expression is a bit formal or literary. In more everyday Norwegian, you would more often hear selv om instead:

• EU-kontrollen er gyldig, selv om kontrollfristen er nær.

Because om enn introduces a subordinate clause, Norwegian uses subordinate-clause word order.

That means the subject comes before the verb:

• kontrollfristen er nær

This is different from main clause word order, where the verb is usually in second position.

Compare:

• Main clause: Kontrollfristen er nær.
• After a subordinator like om enn: ... om enn kontrollfristen er nær.

So the word order here is completely normal.

Kontrollfristen is a compound noun:

• kontroll = inspection/check
• frist = deadline/time limit
• -en = the

So kontrollfristen means the inspection deadline or the due date for the inspection.

Norwegian uses compounds very freely, so long nouns like this are very common.

It is definite because it refers to a specific deadline: the deadline connected with that particular vehicle inspection.

In English, we would also usually say the inspection deadline, not just an inspection deadline, because the context makes it specific.

Nær literally means near or close.

Here it is used about time, not physical distance. So kontrollfristen er nær means the deadline is close in time — in natural English, the deadline is approaching or the deadline is near.

Yes, but it sounds somewhat formal or official, especially because of om enn.

The whole sentence has a written, slightly administrative tone. That fits well with topics like inspections, validity, and deadlines.

A more everyday version might be:

• EU-kontrollen er gyldig, selv om kontrollfristen er nær.

So the original sentence is correct and natural, but a bit more formal than casual speech.

The comma helps separate the main statement from the concessive add-on:

• EU-kontrollen er gyldig = main point
• om enn kontrollfristen er nær = contrasting extra information

So the comma makes the sentence easier to read and highlights the contrast: the inspection is still valid, even though the deadline is close.