British charities are opening Dutch offices ahead of Brexit

The Peace Palace is a draw to NGOs

Four British non-profit organisations have opened offices in the Netherlands ahead of Brexit, according to Charity Finance magazine.

Support organisation Euclid Network, human rights group Redress, peace-building organisation International Alert and Field Ready which develops humanitarian supplies have all moved some or all of their operations to The Hague, the magazine said.

Support organisation Euclid Network decided to move its entire operation from Britain to The Hague in October last year.

‘Some 70% to 80% of our revenue is from EU programmes… If we lost the EU funding, there would probably be no organisation,’ said Euclid director Stephen Barnett.

‘The Netherlands won out on the six factors we were considering. It had a strong local member in Social Enterprise NL, great transport links by rail and air, a good community of expats working for international NGOs, attainable staff costs and a solid international reputation,’ Barnett said.

Rupert Skilbeck, director of human rights organisation Redress told the magazine: ‘When we started thinking about establishing a base in Europe to maximise the global impact of our work seeking justice and reparation for torture survivors, we found that The Hague best exemplified that international outlook and provided the perfect platform for us.’

Debbie Ball, head of fundraising at International Alert, said her charity was attracted by the ability to continue to access EU funding, as well as the city’s welcoming attitude when setting up a new European office.

Aid organisation Field Ready, which is based in the US, but has a substantial presence in Britain, has also opened an office in the Netherlands.

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