EU warns Dutch over secondment rules
Thursday 14 June 2007
The EU’s employment commissioner Vladimir Spidla rapped the Netherlands on the knuckles on Wednesday for not complying properly with EU regulations on temporary, seconded workers.
These regulations allow foreign employees of EU-based companies to work temporarily in all EU member states. A Ukrainian working legally for a German company who is then seconded to the Netherlands, for example, does not need a work permit.
The Commission found that in many cases the Netherlands wrongly requires such workers to provide a permit.
The EU Commission has sent a warning letter to the government and in a worst case could take the Netherlands to the European Court of Justice.
A social affairs ministry spokeswoman said Spidla’s statement is still being studied.
She pointed out that in March this year the cabinet had made it easier for non-EU nationals to be seconded in the Netherlands, following earlier criticism on this front by the EU.
© DutchNews.nl
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Monday: Between 2º and 5º with light snow or sleet. Around zero at night. Similar Tuesday
The Dutch always seemed to have a very peculiar understanding of what rights EU nationals have. Particularly public servants seem to forget that EU nationals don't need a work permit.
It gets worse, if matters are more complicated as in the example above. Or if you happen to be a Swiss citizen (who for some time now) don't need a work permit either.
They will also happily tell you that "it makes sense" to get a residence permit -- even if EU citizens don't need one. But the government makes money from issuing these permits...
By Peter | June 14, 2007 12:05 PM