The small town of Vaals in Limburg is to refuse residency rights to all EU nationals who do not have a job or sufficient assets to support themselves from September, news agency ANP reports.

The town has a population of 10,000 and says 40% of the 300 people living there who claim social security benefits are from other EU countries. The council says that is a higher proportion than in cities like Rotterdam. It puts the cost of benefits a year at €400,000.
ANP says Vaals appears to be the first local authority in the country to take advantage of EU rules allowing towns to keep out people without a job. The rule is already being used by the town of Plombieres in Belgium, ANP says.