Netherlands: “special contracts” to appeal to border workforce

Frans Timmermans, the Dutch Secretary of State to European Affairs proposed, on August 24, to make the employment of Belgian and German citizens by Dutch companies located in regions neighboring Belgium and Germany easier. (Ref. 070697)
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In a country in a situation of full employment, and even of workforce shortage in some sectors, the Dutch government is considering special agreements to recruit employees in neighboring countries. Frans Timmermans, who is doing a round in all of the Netherlands’ provinces to evaluate on the ground what role Europe could play, proposed this idea after he visited a naval construction site in Zealand, suffering from shortages. As “creative solutions,” he is considering establishing a special syst

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