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Professor Hildegard Schneider
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So many countries, so many citizens, so many people living in border regions; cooperation is inevitable within Europe. Cooperation across political borders, cooperation to improve administrative borders, finding one another….
After the French elections, there are positive signals of new political initiatives in Brussels that could strengthen the European Union. Meaning that the year 2017 despite Brexit, might not be the year of ongoing political disturbances but of further consolidation and progress. This would be good news. Especially for border regions that depend heavily on open borders, a stable internal market and free movement of citizens.
Let us summarize some positive trends:
- The European Commission will - after the summer- present a roadmap to abolish present obstacles for cross-border mobility.
- The Dutch government has just launched an action plan to strengthen cross-border economic activities and a cross-border labour market.
- The Benelux is tackling border obstacles, among others, in the area of the transferability of qualifications (in the context of a group of experts).
- The Euregions at the German/Dutch/Belgian borders have established new cross-border information points, and
- The public employment authorities found some interesting new solutions for cross-border employment.
This offers many interesting aspects for ITEM’s third annual conference that this year will be held in Düsseldorf.
The City of Düsseldorf is a case in point: Member of two German-Dutch Euregions, home of many citizens from the entire EU and other regions of the world. The city of Düsseldorf is heavily dependent on open borders and a good cooperation with its neighbours. This year’s conference programme will discuss the very concrete policy proposals put forward by the EU and national actors, the present developments in the Euregion’s and the needs to be able to transform innovative approaches into stable structural cross-border institutions.
SAVE THE DATE
10 NOVEMBER 2017, DÜSSELDORF - ITEM ANNUAL CONFERENCE
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ITEM's Cross border impact assessment 2017
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The German Autobahn toll scheme: its effects on the border regions
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Amidst the public debate on the potentially discriminating impact of the German toll scheme for passenger cars and the expected revenues, border regions are raising their voice about the potentially negative impacts on cross-border interaction.
With the implementation of the toll scheme now adopted by the German Government and Parliament, what are the potential effects for the German-Dutch border regions? And what does the toll instrument mean for European integration and the harmonization of future toll systems in the EU? As part of its annual cross-border assessment, ITEM is doing research on the expected effects in the Meuse-Rhine Euregio.
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Removing obstacles for cross-border workers. How do you do that?
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On 28 June, the Vereniging voor Belastingwetenschap presented their report, Grenswerkers in Europa: Een onderzoek naar fiscale, sociaalverzekerings- en pensioenaspecten van grensoverschrijdend werken (Cross-border workers in Europe: An investigation into the tax, social insurance and pension aspects of cross-border work). The report was drafted by a committee chaired by assistant professor Marjon Weerepas, who is affiliated with the Institute for Transnational and Euregional Cross Border Cooperation and Mobility (ITEM) at Maastricht University.
Together with experts from the various disciplines, they made an inventory of the problems encountered by cross-border workers in the areas of taxation, social insurance and pensions. The committee offered 39 recommendations for solving these problems. These recommendations are concrete enough to be implemented in policy such as the new tax treaty between the Netherlands and Belgium. In its mandate to the committee, the Vereniging voor Belastingwetenschap explicitly asked for a multidisciplinary investigation that was not only focused on taxation. The report’s recommendations can be applied by policymakers and governments throughout Europe.
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Beyond the refugee crisis
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Anyone who thinks that all asylum seekers who are granted a residence permit in the Netherlands stay here forever, is wrong. Of all the people from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, former Yugoslavia and Somalia who were registered in the Netherlands in the Personal Records Database (BRP) in 1999, a third no longer lived in the Netherlands ten years later. Which relocations immigrants make from their assigned place in the Netherlands is the subject of the PhD research by Marloes de Hoon at the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Her research is also included under the umbrella of ITEM, the Institute for Transnational and Euregional Cross-border Cooperation and Mobility. Together with five other PhD candidates at ITEM, she published the brochure ‘Beyond the refugee crisis: A reflection from different perspectives on the Dutch case’.
In the publication, lawyers, an economist and a sociologist bring together their expertise on the ‘refugee crisis’ in Europe, with an emphasis on the Netherlands—with topics from the impact of criminal law on residence permits to access social welfare benefits and pensions for refugees. Marloes de Hoon: “All ITEM research is about the role of the border in Euregional issues, but from very different disciplines and perspectives. With this publication, we wanted to work together on one theme because we believe that different disciplines can enhance scientific progress together.”
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Cross-border mobility of specialized nurses - two Dutch hospitals in borderregions
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The cross-border mobility of specialized nurses (gespecialiseerde verpleegkundigen) is a particular one. Access to that profession in the Netherlands is not subject to the recognition of qualifications because the profession is not regulated by law, meaning the European directive on recognition does not apply. In theory, this would mean that one could start working immediately. However, Dutch health care actors have set quality standards which only foresee one national qualification as meeting the standard. The Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom relations has asked ITEM to research the cross-border mobility of specialized nurses in some Dutch health care institutions.
The issue arose from practice. A Dutch hospital located in the border region is facing shortages of specialized nurses. Cross-border employment is often suggested as a way to remedy such shortages. Nevertheless, quality standards may form obstacles to the employment of other EU Member State professionals.
ITEM’s research delves into this issue by focusing on two Dutch hospitals located in the Zeeland and Limburg border regions. The goal of the research is to find out about the status and influence of quality standards and the actors involved, as well as to provide solutions to facilitate the cross-border mobility of specialized nurses while maintaining high quality health care.
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Towards electronic data exchange within the EU: removing administrative obstacles
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The increasingly developed electronic data exchange within the European Union could remove the administrative hurdles to the exercise of the European freedoms of movement and cross-border mobility, such as the life certificates, described in a previous blog, and the so-called certificate of coverage. This development is particularly welcome from a cross-border perspective.
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ITEM and Grenzinfopunkt Aachen/Eurode move towards closer cooperation
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In light of the cooperation between ITEM and Grenzinfopunkt Aachen/Eurode, ITEM’s Denise Leenders has been posted to the Grenzinfopunkt in order to be trained and to work as a consultant. In this capacity, she will provide advice to clients with cross-border issues relating to living, working and studying across the Dutch-German border.
At ITEM, she will combine her knowledge of the issues at hand, technical understanding and computer knowledge to facilitate and partake in the development and practical implementation of ITEM’s new database and workflow system.
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Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross border cooperation and Mobility / ITEM
E-mail: item@maastrichtuniversity.nl
Website: www.maastrichtuniversity.nl/item
Twitter: @ITEM_UM
Telephone: 0031 – 43 3883233
Address:
Bouillonstraat 1-3, 6211 LH Maastricht, The Netherlands
Avenue Céramique 50, 6221 KV Maastricht, The Netherlands (Tuesday and Thursday)
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Calendar
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Planned events
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28 September 2017
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ITEM/SVB (BDZ) - Informationsession 'Different pensiondates Netherlands/Germany' (in Dutch), Venlo, in cooperation with Euregio rijn-maas-noord.
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9 oktober 2017
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ITEM/Team GWO informationsession 'Tax Treaty The Netherlands-Germany', Venlo, in cooperation with Euregio rijn-maas-noord.
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10 November 2017
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ITEM ANNUAL CONFERENCE, DÜSSELDORF
'Fresh Momentum for cross-border cooperation'
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30 November 2017
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ITEM/SVB informationsession 'sick leave when working across the border', Eindhoven
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