Bribery increasing problem for Dutch business world
October 10, 2006 Comments Off
The Dutch business world has in the past four years suffered to an increasing degree from bribery in the allocation of contracts, research by consultancy bureau Control Risk and law firm Simmons & Simmons reveals.
The study, published yesterday, was conducted among 350 international companies from seven different countries. From the reactions of Dutch companies, it [...]
EU commissioner criticises Dutch attitude to Europe
October 9, 2006 Leave a Comment
The EU competition commissioner Neelie Kroes says the government and political parties are too little involved in discussions about the future of Europe.
Speaking in an interview with De Telegraaf she said the government has had its head in the sand since the Dutch people voted ‘no’ in the referendum on the EU constitution.
There [...]
Lowest number of marriages since 1945
October 9, 2006 Leave a Comment
In 2005, there were 72,000 marriages, nearly 1,200 less than in 2004. The figure is the lowest since 1945, when the same number was recorded, the Central Bureau for Statistics (CBS) reported yesterday.
The drop can be attributed to three causes. The average age at which people first marry has steadily risen since the mid-1970s. “In [...]
Dutch and Danes call on EU to slash red tape
October 9, 2006 Leave a Comment
The Dutch and Danish governments called Monday on the European Union to set targets for the amount of red tape it intends to cut, and how soon it will do so.
“European businesses suffer from unnecessary red tape,” Dutch Finance Minister Gerrit Zalm and Danish Minister for Economic and Business Affairs Bendt Bendtsen wrote in [...]
Setheater performs for all first year students at Hogeschool Zuyd
October 9, 2006 Leave a Comment
Wednesday, October 4th, 5.15 pm: The last students are leaving the building. The three actors of Setheater are changing clothes. The rest of the crew is taking down the scenery.
Setheater has performed the last show of ‘Moet kunnen! Toch?’. Freely translated the title means ‘No Problem! Right?’. The play has been developed on request for Hogeschool Zuyd and is about bullying, discrimination, (sexual) intimidation; it deals with all sorts of behaviour that cross a border, for the offender or for the victim. It explores the difficult area in the middle where it is not crystal clear what is going on. What was that? Am I being intimidated? Did he/she cross a border? Did he/she mean to cross a border? Should I say something about it? Or not? [continued...]
UNU-MERIT report: Are new EU Members more innovative in services sector?
October 9, 2006 Leave a Comment
At a first glance, new EU Member States such as Latvia, the Czech Republic and Romania seem to outperform many established European economies - including France, Germany and the UK - in terms of innovation performance in their services industry. These are the surprising results of a recently published TrendChart report, which also shows that [...]
What European nations are doing to fix ailing universities
October 7, 2006 Leave a Comment
An interesting article published in today’s edition of the International Herald Tribune looks at some of the ways different European countries (France, Britain, the Netherlands, Denmark, Germany and Greece) are trying to reform struggling university systems — and ways they’re meeting resistance.
Read article: The Associated Press via the International Herald Tribune, 7 October 2006
Foreign talent to have easier access to Dutch labour market
October 7, 2006 Leave a Comment
Foreign doctors taking a course as specialist in the Netherlands and scientific researchers will be able to work in the Netherlands more easily from 1 November. Additionally, it will become easier for non-European students to get a practical work placement in the Netherlands. Employers will no longer have to apply for a work permit for [...]
Dutch minister admits problems with EU funds
October 7, 2006 Leave a Comment
Deputy Economy Minister Karien van Gennip has acknowledged that mistakes have been made in managing European Union subsidies.
A report by the European Commission recently accused the Dutch government of “serious shortcomings” in spending regional development funds.
The report points to poor accounting, erroneous VAT levies, and insufficient spending controls.
Ms Van Gennip emphasised, however, [...]
Massive fraud in Dutch home care
October 7, 2006 Leave a Comment
Health insurance companies have accused home care organisations of massive fraud.
The national federation of health insurance companies says home care groups deliberately keep people on waiting lists in order to boost their profits.
Last summer, home care groups warned that waiting lists were growing due to dwindling funds and in response received an additional [...]
Programmes at Maastricht University top the table again
October 6, 2006 Leave a Comment
UM once again university with most student mobility
The programmes offered by Maastricht University have again scored well in the Keuzegids Hoger Onderwijs, the Netherlands guide to higher education. A staggering eight of the twelve programmes under scrutiny were designated ‘number 1’ in the Netherlands by students. UM as a whole scored 7.15, which put [...]
Government personnel not required to shake hands with women
October 6, 2006 Leave a Comment
The municipality of Rotterdam unlawfully rejected an applicant who refused to shake hands with women. Rotterdam should have considered allowing him to welcome people in other respectful ways. Because it did not, the city is guilty of discrimination based on religion, the Equal Treatment Commission (CGB) ruled yesterday.
“Refusing to shake hands with clients or colleagues [...]
India Festival in Brussels
October 6, 2006 Leave a Comment
For the next three months the Bozar (Palace of Fine Arts) in Brussels is staging an India Festival. Concerts, theatre and readings will put Indian culture in the spotlight.
Read full article: VRT News, 6 October 2006
Half of Dutch emigrants return in 8 years
October 6, 2006 Leave a Comment
More than half of Dutch nationals who emigrate return to the Netherlands within eight years, the Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS) said on Thursday.
However, the flow of emigrants out of the country remains as large as ever, the CBS said.
The CBS figures indicated that 20,200 Dutch emigrants returned to the Netherlands last year. [...]
Seven Dutch universities in top 100
October 6, 2006 Leave a Comment
Seven Dutch universities were included on Thursday in a list of the world’s top 100 universities.
The Netherlands and Australia finished equal third on the rankings, each with seven universities listed.
Ranked 67th, the Technische Universiteit Eindhoven is the Netherlands’ top ranked tertiary institute, followed by the Universiteit van Amsterdam in 69th place.
Other universities mentioned are [...]
The Guardian launches expats’ website
October 5, 2006 Leave a Comment
The Guardian has launched a website, GuardianAbroad.co.uk, aimed at expatriates. The site will mix stories with practical information about living abroad and is linked with Guardian Weekly, the international weekly print edition of the Guardian.
The site intends to build a community that users can visit to gain and share information about moving to new [...]
Netherlands encourages social business ops in emerging markets
October 4, 2006 Leave a Comment
The economic affairs ministry has developed ‘tool-kits’ for Dutch companies that want to operate ’socially responsible’ businesses in six emerging markets.
The tool-kits are for Brazil, China, India, Indonesia, Russia and South Africa. They have been developed for “Dutch companies that ask themselves how they can keep international standards high in countries where social and environmental [...]
Through the lens: Hennes and Mauritz fashion show in Maastricht
October 4, 2006 Leave a Comment
Swedish fashion retailer Hennes and Mauritz recently opened a new outlet in Maastricht’s renovated Entre-Deux shopping centre. It held a spectacular fashion show last Saturday afternoon to celebrate the event.
I was lucky enough to arrive just before the end of the free open air show and quickly grabbed my camera! [more photographs...]
Relay demonstration at Iranian Embassy for Dutchman’s release
October 3, 2006 Leave a Comment
Amnesty International plans to hold protest actions at the Iranian embassy in The Hague over the next ten days to obtain access to Abdoullah al-Mansouri. Various MPs and Mayor Gerd Leers of Maastricht are involved in the campaign.
Amnesty International started a campaign at the Iranian embassy on Monday for naturalised Dutchman and human rights activist [...]
ICT travels with UM students
October 3, 2006 Leave a Comment
Student Desktop Anywhere: worldwide access to library facilities
The University Library (UL) of Maastricht University (UM) launched a new ICT service at the beginning of the present academic year: Student Desktop Anywhere (SDA). This service enables UM students anywhere in the world - for example during a traineeship abroad, but also just at home - to [...]
Iranians making good progress with integration
October 3, 2006 Leave a Comment
Among the largest groups of refugees living in the Netherlands, Iranians seems to be making the most progress integrating in the population. To a slightly lesser extent this is also true of Afghans. The picture is slightly less favourable for Somalis. These findings are among those published in the Integration monitor 2006, in which the [...]
Number of singles breaks through 2.5 million barrier
October 3, 2006 Leave a Comment
On 1 January 2006, there were 2.5 million singles living in the Netherlands, nearly 400 thousand more than a decade ago. Nowadays, more than one in every six males aged 15 or older live alone. The corresponding rate for women is one in five.
Most substantial increase among single males
The increase in singles was [...]
High suicide rate among Surinamese men
October 3, 2006 Leave a Comment
Suicide rates among Surinamese men and men from countries in Southern and Eastern Europe are much higher than among native Dutchmen. Suicide rates for Turkish and Moroccan men and women, on the other hand, are evidently lower than for native Dutch people, according to a survey conducted by Statistics Netherlands, which was published in the [...]
17 October: Lecture: The Transformation of the Netherlands
October 3, 2006 Leave a Comment
Lecture by Simon Kuper, British journalist and columnist:
For centuries the Netherlands was a quiet country. Other than the second world war it was spared the course of history. Until Pim Fortuyn’s death. No politician had been murdered here since 1672. In the last few decades, the Netherlands transformed. Its population rose faster than in any [...]
UNU-MERIT survey: European public research performs better than thought
October 3, 2006 Leave a Comment
Improving Indicators could ease comparisons
It is generally thought that Europe has failed to benefit commercially from its substantial investments in research performed by public universities and government research institutes. This is the so called European Paradox. The United States seems to do much better, with public research institutes linked to the creation of several globally [...]
EU to discuss reintroducing visa requirements for US diplomats
October 3, 2006 Leave a Comment
The European Commission will ask European Union countries to consider introducing visas for US diplomats, an EU official said Tuesday, as Washington refuses visa-free entry to some of the bloc’s citizens.
In a report to be given to EU justice ministers on Thursday, the EU’s executive body notes that “there is no progress” toward the [...]
22 October: “I am not a tourist”: The Expo for the International Community in the Netherlands
October 3, 2006 Leave a Comment
After the huge success of the 2004 and 2005 events, the biggest fair for expats in Holland returns to Amsterdam’s Beurs van Berlage on 22 October 2006. Aimed at the English-speaking international community in Holland, this year’s ‘new and improved’ Expo looks to provide expats with ‘everything you need to know about living in Holland’… [...]
25 October: Lecture: Islamic Enlightenment - historical and structural background
October 2, 2006 Leave a Comment
In the present context, where Islam seems to present a problem in Europe and in the West in general, there is a lot of debate about the possibility (or the impossibility) of modernizing Islam in order to accept and integrate into its system the Western values of equality, freedom, democracy and Human Rights. Nasr Abu-Zayd’s [...]
Number of people living alone reaches 2.4 million
October 2, 2006 Leave a Comment
The Netherlands had 2.5 million single-person households on 1 January, nearly 400,000 more than ten years ago. About one in six men and one in five women were living alone.
The proportion of men and women (aged 15 years or more) living alone increased in virtually all age groups since 1996. The only exception is women [...]
Financial setback for UM
October 1, 2006 Leave a Comment
In 2007, universities will receive hardly any extra funds from the Minister of Education. [...] For Maastricht, Twente and Tilburg, there is another letdown. In 2007, the ‘young universities fund’, from which they received six million euros this year, will be abolished.
Read article: Observant, 28 September 2006
