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Prof. Hildegard Schneider
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Having watched -with horror- the fire last Monday, which seemed to destroy one of the most famous icons of European art history, Notre Dame of Paris, I was at the same time impressed by the many signs of solidarity and support for France and the French people coming from all over the world but specifically also from many European countries, their leaders and people. These direct signs of support in such a dark moment, give hope that in moments of severe crisis, people are willing to stand together and give as much help as possible.
Rebuilding and restoring Notre Dame with the support of so many can be seen as a positive sign of solidarity and it certainly will lead to strong cooperation across borders in the years to come. Financial support will have to be given but also many different disciplines of craftsmen, art historians, architects and many other disciplines will have to work together during the restauration process. Only joint efforts across borders will make it possible to rebuilt Notre Dame.
During the intense political discussions in the last months, we were so concentrated on BREXIT, and the many problems the European Union is facing in light of BREXIT and the positions taken by some Member States and politicians to fundamental rights questions and the European idea in general, spontaneous solidarity between Member States was often difficult to find. Sometimes it seemed the beginning of the end for any form of cooperation, solidarity and support for the European project.
How will all these problems influence the European Parliament elections in May? Will the people of Europe be willing to elect parliamentarians supportive to the European project? Will anti-European voices get a platform and have influence to disrupt any form of European cooperation? I strongly hope that this will not be the case! Only with solidarity and close cooperation between the Member States and their people, we will be able to face the challenges of the future. Therefore, I hope that the electorate is willing to accept and support that only with more cooperation within the European Union the challenges we are facing can be managed in the coming decades.
My believe is therefore that the road of stronger cooperation is the way to go, especially when looking at things from a border region perspective. With 30% of the population of the European Union, we, the ones living in a border region, will be noticing the effects whatever path is choosen the most. For us the choice for better chances is clear: increasing cross border cooperation and building platforms is our answer to the Eurosceptics.
ITEM has seen many projects where cross border projects have contributed to the welfare of a region and even literally saved lives. I am thinking e.g of EMRIC (Euregion Meuse-Rhine incident control and Crisis management) and the Euregional Paediatric Surgical Centre. This type of crossborder cooperation is essential for the wellbeing of the people living in these regions. These type of projects need support of the governments involved, a good structure, well developed platforms to operate and the necessary legislative or administrative tools to make the functioning of this cooperation projects easier.
Following this path, ITEM is proud to announce its cooperation with the University of Hasselt which will be officially launched on May 8th. ITEM is furthermore proud of its cooperation with the province of Overijssel in organising ITEM’s annual conference on 22 November 2019 in Enschede. Of course the ITEM annual conference will be about building platforms for cross-border cooperation. We are standing at a cross-road and it is up to us to choose the path which will benefit strong cooperation the most.
SAVE THE DATE: ITEM annual conference 2019, 22 november in Enschede.
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ITEM cross-border impact assessment 2019
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The ITEM Cross-border Impact Assessment is one of ITEM's core annual activities, which investigates the effects of existing and future legislation and regulations on the border regions.
The dossiers for the 2019 ITEM Cross-border Impact Assessment have been selected. ITEM will research the effects on border regions of:
- 90% rule
- European Cross-border Mechanism
- Nitrates Directive and manure quotas NL/DE
- Cross-border data
- Impacts on cross-border cohesion
- Governance under the new Interreg regulation
- Law on the normalisation of the legal status of civil servant.
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Euregional surgery centre for children
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There are a number of large paediatric surgery centres in different parts of the Netherlands, but no such facility in the south of the country. This means that sick children in the Euregion often have to travel far away from their home and their family to receive treatment. To provide better care in the border region, the Maastricht UMC+ wants to join forces with Uniklinik RWTH Aachen and the Centre Hospitalier Chrétien in Liège to set up a Euregional Centre for Paediatric Surgery.
ITEM recently conducted a study for Maastricht UMC+ in the context of the plans for a Euregional Centre for Paediatric Surgery.
“When it comes to cross-border cooperation in healthcare, there’s a lot of legislation and regulation to deal with”, says Lavinia Kortese, a PhD candidate at ITEM and principal investigator in this project. “Questions include the recognition of paediatric surgery as a medical specialty, the registration of surgeons in the Meuse–Rhine Euregion and opportunities for cross-border training in paediatric surgery. An obvious and crucial aspect of the future centre is how to ensure that paediatric surgeons can practice in all three countries.”
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Export of unemployment benefits
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How Dutch cross-border workers can also benefit from the export of unemployment benefits.
At the end of March and the beginning of April, the media again published some disturbing reports about the planned changes to the unemployment schemes in the European regulation on social security and the possible misuse of Dutch benefits by foreign workers.
The last vote on this package of measures was on the agenda of the European Parliament at the beginning of April 2019 and has been postponed. It is, therefore, very likely that the Romanian Presidency of the EU will have to carry the package over to the next Presidency. It is not clear yet how things will change then and whether this change will affect the vote on this package of measures, also taking into account the European elections of May 2019.
ITEM briefly set out the facts regarding the unemployment proposals. What changes are on the European table? What determines Dutch unemployment legislation? Are the headlines right and do the (Dutch) politicians tell the whole story?
Visit the ITEM cross-border Portal to read the full article (Search: Montebovi)
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PhD scholarship students should be allowed to childcare allowance
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Are doctoral researchers with a scholarschip entitled to childcare allowance in the Netherlands?
Recently, Minister Van Engelshoven of Education, Culture and Science answered parliamentary questions about the right to childcare allowance for PhD candidates. The answers she gives are in line with the well-known arguments of the Dutch Tax Administration. Expertise centre ITEM questions these arguments on the basis of European law.
Two PhD students from outside the EU but working in the Netherlands are married and have a child together. To combine their parenting and research activities in the Netherlands, they make use of childcare. They have applied for childcare benefit for this purpose. According to the Dutch tax authorities, however, they are not entitled to this benefit because according to the Dutch administration, the labour of the researchers cannot be regarded as an employment.
According to ITEM Expertise Centre, the focus which Minister Van Engelshoven and the Dutch Tax Administration put on the purely legal relationship between doctoral candidate and university and the relationship of authority for the granting of childcare allowance is unjustified. European law is applicable in the case of childcare allowance. An EU directive grants the right to equal treatment with nationals of the host Member State to all holders of a residence permit as 'researchers'.
The ITEM expertise centre investigated this case and concluded that the tax authorities do not sufficiently take European rules in account here.
The ITEM Expertise Centre has advised in a case which started in September 2017 and has recently been reopened and referred to a full court. The second oral hearing is expected to take place this Spring.
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https://www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/news/childcare-allowance-each-phd-candidate
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Obstacle Conquered? - Dutch Childcare workers in North Rhine-Westphalia
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The employment of Dutch childcare workers as ‘Erzieherin’ in North Rhine-Westphalia was not obvious. The professions were not sufficiently similar and extensive compensation measures were imposed. Working as Erzieherin only in childcare was not possible until recently.
Word was received in light of an ongoing complaints procedure that partial access has been made available for EU citizens who want to work as Erzieherin in North Rhine-Westphalia.
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ITEM ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2019
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Save the date
22 November 2019 - ITEM CONFERENCE
'Platform building for cross-border cooperation'
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ITEM brings science, politics and practice together
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Last January, the eighth edition of the Maastricht Pension Seminar took place. The theme of the meeting was 'Pension: Outside in - Pension in Europe: The Netherlands the last dinosaur?’. In the same week, ITEM received Stefan Lenzen (Freie Demokratische Partei from Germany) to talk about topics on cross-border labour market. Director of ITEM Prof. Anouk Bollen: "By entering into a dialogue with the outside world, we can collect and help tackle the most pressing questions from society in the area of cross border issues.”
Experts from the Netherlands and abroad attended the Maastricht pension seminar and shed light on the latest developments in the field of pensions, particularly the relationship between the Netherlands and the EU. Participants discussed the different views and shared ideas on what we could learn from each other. There was also room for political perspectives on the current situation.
During the Maastricht Pension Seminar, Member of Parliament Pieter Omtzigt gave a presentation in which, among other things, he discussed European interference in the Dutch pension system. Omtzigt indicated that, despite the fact that the Netherlands still scores well in the field of pensions in different rankings, participants are quite dissatisfied. Moreover, the Netherlands scores rather badly on the possibility of owning a home through pension, which in Omtzigt's opinion is an important part of the pension provision. Another problem he believes has been underexposed in the major debate, is that of democratic legitimacy. As a result of the IORP guidelines, it’s possible to move a pension fund from the Netherlands to another member state. "This means a discoordination will arise between where someone votes and where someone's pension is placed, which is life-threatening for democratic legitimacy," according to Omtzigt.
As part of a working visit, ITEM received Stefan Lenzen, spokesman for employment, social affairs and integration of the FDP Landtagsfraktion Northrhine-Westphalia on 1 February. The visit was also attended by Jacques Michel Bloi, coordinator of cross-border cooperation for the VVD and European Parliament candidate. The visit’s purpose was to exchange views on the possibilities for improving the cross-border labour market.
ITEM director Prof. Anouk Bollen: "It’s important for ITEM to continuously be in touch with the outside world; from policy makers to citizens. Only then, we can meet challenges in the field of cross-border cooperation. An important part of this is to establish a dialogue with politics and government. Our role is to identify bottlenecks in the field and, by means of research (fundamental and applied), to suggest possible solutions and give advice. In that capacity, we are regularly asked by (local) politicians to provide them with substantive information on cross-border issues such as social security, mobility and recognition of qualifications.”
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ITEM Scientific Publications
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Some examples of ITEM's recent scientific publications:
- Geen recht op premiedelen van de gecombineerde heffingskorting in het geval een persoon niet is verzekerd voor de volksverzekeringen
- Inventory of Services and Activities for Newcomers in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine
- Setting up a Tri-Member State Paediatric Surgery Centre in the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium: The Cross-border Mobility of Paediatric Surgeons in the Meuse-Rhine Euregion
- Inaugural address: 'Grenswerkers: coördineren, niet omdat het niet kan, maar omdat het moet?'
- A statute for Limburg? Exploring the legal and practical possibilities of interregional cross-border cooperation in the Dutch border region
- Cross-border Corporate Mobility in the EU: Empirical Findings 2018
See for a complete overview of ITEM's scientific publications the ITEM website.
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Buitenlandse Verassingen Vlak over de Grens - F.Cörvers, April 2019
Will the European Social Model become a reality at last? - ITEM, March 2019
European Court of Justice allows Dutch tax credit reduction - ITEM, March 2019
Toll: After the German Maut, also a Belgian Péage in Wallonia? - ITEM, March 2019
Border Obstacle when Renewing Driving Licences - L.Kortese, Febr. 2019
Belgian Royal Decree allows unemployment benefit for frontier workers to match Dutch pension - S.Kramer i.s.m. Anouk Bollen, Marjon Weerepas en Hannelore Niesten, Jan.2019
CJEU case law on EU citizenship: normatively consistent? Unlikely! - A response to Davies’ ‘Has the Court changed, or have the cases?’ - A.Hoogenboom, Nov 2018
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