Engine "on condition"??

Hi!

Just spoke to my mechanic, and he told me that there will be a new
regulation here in Norway for private aircraft that takes away the mandatory
engine replacement after approx 2000 hours.
Instead, an engine is allowed to run indefinately as long as the regular
maintenance is carried out at a sertified shop.
He said this is the way it works in the US. Can someone verify this, and
tell me, does anyone ever replace their engine if this is the regulations
apart from when having a total failure (fire and such..)

Also, what are the safety issues?
Does a new engine actually perform better?
He told me about a C177 that came to his shop from the US for overhaul
(change of a couple of sylinders +) and it had over 9000 hours on it's
engine...

I thought it was mandatory everywere to replace an engine after 2000 hours
(or whatever time on individual engines).
If this gets approved, it certainly is good news for us private operators.
Maybe a GNS430 is not so far reach anyway....(our engine is just over 2000
hours now...)

Thanks,

Frode Berg