News

The ESG rating, the hallmark that indicates that companies are conducting business in a socially responsible way, often appears to be a promise that only exists on paper. While large investors, such as Dutch pension funds, actually use it to make responsible investments.

The Executive Board has appointed Dr Dominic Coppens as Professor of International Economic Law with effect from 1 September 2022 for 0.2 FTE; he succeeds Prof Peter Van den Bossche.

Unless the EU rules and tax treaties are amended, some cross-border workers will soon have to pay tax in two countries: in their country of residence for hours spent working from home, and in the country in which they work for hours spent in the office. Since COVID-19 has made working from home often no longer a choice, the Dutch, German and Belgian governments have exempted cross-border workers from the usual rules until the end of 2021. But no such arrangements have been made for 2022.

How do we involve citizens in the sustainability transition? When do they start participating? What solutions could reliably count on wide public support and how do we find these? What implications could such an approach have for governmental practices? What barriers do sustainable solutions encounter at the institutional level and how could these be overcome?

By synthesizing the results of twelve different research projects, Joop de Kraker and René Kemp (Maastricht Sustainability Institute) try to provide answers to questions like these.

During the first school closure in primary education in the 2019/2020 school year as a result of the COVID-19 crisis, pupils from all backgrounds suffered a delay in learning growth compared to the previous years. However, the delay is greater for some pupils than for other pupils. This is shown by research by scientists at Maastricht University based on the National Cohort Research Education (NCO).

Many European borders were closed this spring simply because governments were unable to make agreements about the various national corona measures, and not primarily due to public health considerations. This is the conclusion of the annual Cross-Border Impact Assessment by the Institute for Transnational and Euregional cross-border cooperation and Mobility/ITEM at Maastricht University.

Graduates from Dutch Universities of Applied Sciences who have a migrant background experience more difficulty finding jobs than do other graduates. Employers’ selection procedures and discrimination are often cited as major reasons. However, a recent study by the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) at Maastricht University (UM) and the research agency headed by Eva Klooster found that degree programmes should also make changes to promote equal access to the labour market.

Discoordination at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak caused numerous bottlenecks in the border regions, which proved to have negative effects on Euregional cooperation. The PANDEMRIC project (Interreg V-A Euregio Maas-Rijn), aimed at promoting Euroregional cooperation in the field of health care, may offer opportunities for optimal cross-border crisis management.

A study by at the Research Centre for Education and the Labour Market (ROA) at Maastricht University (UM) assessed the employment opportunities of people on benefits in all municipalities in the Province of Limburg. The data is published in a fact sheet today.