News

The project entitled REconciling sCience, Innovation and Precaution through the Engagement of Stakeholders (RECIPES) will address the topical question as to how to protect health and safety of persons and the environment whilst promoting innovation.

The activities for the B-Solutions project “Roadmap and factsheet for the recognition of qualifications for highly demanded professions” have recently started. This project, submitted by the Province of Limburg (NL) as lead applicant and carried out by ITEM, brings together partners along the Dutch border comprising partners from the Netherlands, Belgium, North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. 

MUMC+ is cooperating with parties in the Euregio Meuse-Rhine on the establishment of a Euregional Centre for Paediatric Surgery. This process leads to a large number of questions and challenges. One of these concerns the education and training of paediatric surgeons in the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany and their mobility between the three countries. ITEM researches this topic on behalf of the MUMC+.

Cross-border work involves a lot to be taken into account. A much-discussed aspect is the recognition of qualifications. During these procedures, competent authorities check whether a person's diplomas and professional experience meet certain standards. Such processes are anything but obvious. In order to provide clarity in the complex subject matter, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science has commissioned Expertise Centre ITEM to draw up a set of explanatory documents. Expertise Centre ITEM is pleased to announce the publication of these documents.

ITEM supports and promotes - from science - the euregional and transnational functioning of society. In order for society to use ITEM's research, a cross-border portal was launched on September 24th, 2018 during a GIPTOGETHER-meeting of cross-border information points in Eupen.

The second report of the ITEM/ICGI project on ‘Cross-Border Corporate Mobility in the EU’ has now been published. The report identifies a continuous cross-border corporate activity and features a comprehensive country-by-country reporting to provide a fuller picture of cross-border company mobility in the EU.

From 10 to 15 September 2018, the cross-border and multidisciplinary Euregio Summer School in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion was organised for the first time. 45 students from higher education institutions and representatives from knowledge institutes in the Euroregion came together with one goal: to develop visions of the future on the theme 'Improving inclusive Mobility in the Digital Age' in the Meuse-Rhine Euroregion.

Expertise Centre ITEM investigates a number of aspects in relation to cross-border work. One obstacle that cross-border workers face involves obtaining a 'DigiD', the Dutch digital identification system. Regarding this obstacle proceedings were initiated in recent months, which have led to a ruling of the District Court of The Hague. Unfortunately, this ruling is not satisfactory, and an appeal has been lodged.

Stichting Geen Grens: "New municipal coalitions in Limburg often overlook foreign affairs". The newly appointed municipal authorities in Limburg are aware that their municipality has foreign borders, but many coalitions do not take this into account in their policy plans. This concludes the Stichting Geen Grens (No Border Foundation) after comparing the 30 new coalition agreements in Limburg.