It started with Carte Blanche

Before we have even found a place to sit, we are already deep in conversation, discussing the annual shareholder meeting that is to take place this weekend on the ski slopes of Ischgl. Work and private affairs mix effortlessly. There are no official office hours for someone who is self-employed, and Haike's business associate is his friend and former fellow student Ruurd van der Weide. Together they started their adventures in entrepreneurship in Maastricht, when they founded the company Carte Blanche, renting out blackjack tables for student parties. They were also instrumental in launching a line of UM merchandise including hoodies, T-shirts and mugs. In a time where more and more international students found their way to Maastricht, that turned out to be a true gold mine.

'One project led to another, even long after we had obtained our degrees', says Haike. The two friends kept in touch, both on a personal and on a business level. Ruurd moved to Berlin, where he used his expertise to help Dutch companies gain a foothold on the German online market. Shortly after that, Haike came aboard to run the account management side of things from Amsterdam. Together they now run Fingerspitzengefuhl. Responding to my question of whether it wouldn't be better to keep business and friendship separate, Haike simply answers that he doesn't know any better than this. Of course, keeping the balance is your own responsibility, as is tipping the scale back towards the friendship side of things when the balance seems to be pulling the other way.

German business
'I actually advise most companies against taking their business to Germany'. But isn't that sabotaging your own business, I wonder out loud. 'Not really. I advise these relatively small companies to focus their efforts on the Dutch market first. The online market in Germany requires durability and reliability. German consumers are sticklers for certifications and standards like Amazon has, and not every company can compete with that. Because we usually work for commission, we always research everything thoroughly and create a strategy for a lasting partnership. That is why we prefer to focus on businesses that stand a really good chance.'

The company is under Dutch management, but has mostly German employees. 'That can sometimes cause friction. We may be neighbours, but there are still some fundamental differences.' Examples include the German inclination towards hierarchic structures versus a more horizontal organisation, theory versus creativity and precision versus nonchalance. Colouring outside the lines is something much more suited to the Dutch, as Haike noticed back in his university days. German students always came fully prepared, while Dutch students took everything in their stride. In fact his colleagues are a perfect blend of these two attitudes.

Southern Open
Incidentally, Maastricht was not a particularly deliberate choice on Haike's part. Coming from the province of Brabant, Maastricht seemed like a charming town and it would likely be a good fit culturally, too. It was essentially the path of least resistance. He lived on the Lenculenstraat, a stone's throw away from the faculty, which might just be the most idyllic street in all of Maastricht, with its cobblestones and old buildings. In the end, PBL seemed the right fit for his way of learning. After discussions during tutorials had piqued his curiosity, he wanted to know more about the theory behind it all. 'There is not just one standard solution, first you work towards it and the theory comes in after that.’ When he had paid back his student loan in full, he decided to continue setting aside the same amount of money each year and donate it to the University Fund Limburg, which supports UM education and research. Haike: 'I'm happy to do that for my alma mater.'

Occasionally he makes his way back to Maastricht. In honour of his own golf club, for instance, called 'the Southern Open', which consists of a group of former fellow students and friends who regularly visited them in Maastricht. For his next trip down memory lane, though, he promised to find the time to visit the university.

By Charlotte Groven, February 2017

“Freedom” blared the headline of the Daily Mail, a reliably anti-Europe newspaper. Just reading that one word, one could have been forgiven for thinking that Britain had just been under the colonial yoke of an unforgiving oppressor – a period of subservience, the Mail headline appeared to suggest, that ended with the stroke of a fountain pen on the desk of the second woman to occupy the highest executive office in the nation. Alas, reality (much like common sense) has a bias towards nuance and the quiet truths than the tall claims of flashy tabloid headlines.

When Prime Minister Theresa May signed her name on the sixth page of her 29 March letter to European Council President Donald Tusk, she did not merely dryly notify the European Union of the United Kingdom’s intent to withdraw from the continental bloc – in accordance with Article 50 of the Treaty of European Union (TEU). Instead, the Prime Minister used the opportunity to propose a new arrangement between the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe. However, as the developments of the last few weeks demonstrated, it should have become clear to even the most optimistic Brexit advocate that it is one thing to campaign for severing all ties, but it’s quite another to suddenly being forced to negotiate with the very bloc you vilified during the referendum campaign.

Make no mistake about it: The activation of Article 50, the first by any EU Member State, is a historical event. It also represents a leap into the darkness for the United Kingdom. All that is known is that Britain will, barring an unlikely extension (through unanimous consent of all remaining 27 EU Member States) leave the European Union on 29 March 2019. Like with any longstanding relationship, the issues that need to be dealt with prior to the United Kingdom’s departure from the EU are numerous, multifaceted and will take time to resolve.

As ever, in a long-standing, complex relationship, there is the issue of finance: a potential flashpoint may emerge in the European Commission’s calculation of the United Kingdom owing approximately €65 billion to the European Union. In essence, this Brexit bill consists of three elements: Britain’s unpaid share in the EU’s multi-year financial planning framework, cohesion payments (to poorer EU economies) and pension obligations. The EU Commission’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, insists that this point be address prior to any further talks on the terms of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the Union. In contrast, a House of Lords Committee found that (in pure legal terms), the United Kingdom could just leave the European Union without settling its bills (item 135, page 38) and without the EU being able to enforce any kind of payment demand against it. Political leaders from the governing Conservative Party rejoiced at this conclusion and even tried to claim that the EU owed Britain money [1].

However, in typical British understatement, the House of Lords Financial Sub-Committee added: “However, the political and economic consequences of the UK leaving the EU without responding to claims under the EU budget are likely to be profound”. Indeed, given that the UK currently exports 44% of its goods to the EU and that 53% of its imports emanate from the Union, Prime Minister Theresa May will be understandably keen to conclude some kind of free trade agreement with the EU. Not settling a bill, regardless of the final amount, would be an unprecedented act of bad faith that would poison the environment surrounding the withdrawal negotiations before they would even begin. The UK’s negotiating posture has been complicated by the Prime Minister herself, as she stated in her Lancaster House Speech: “The principle is clear: the days of Britain making vast contributions to the European Union every year will end”.

With that speech, the Prime Minister already revealed her hand and boxed herself into a bit of a corner, for she enunciated the following key principles:

• No membership of the Single Market
• No membership of the Customs Union
• No freedom of movement for EU citizens wishing to move to the UK
• No jurisdiction of the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg

In one speech, the Prime Minister thus rejected the most practical option, namely membership of the European Economic Area (EEA) – with or without membership of the European Free Trade Association/EFTA). Membership of the EEA would have necessitated permitting freedom of movement for EU citizens, something that Leave voters in last year’s Brexit referendum clearly seemed to be concerned about. Given the Prime Minister’s willingness to walk away from a negotiated agreement with the EU and let Britain trade under World Trade Organization rules instead, the long-term consequences of leaving the Single Market – so breezily dismissed by the most dexterous Brexit advocates during the campaign – are not to be underestimated [1] [2] [3].

Another vital issue to be considered is the status of EU citizens in the UK and British citizens in the remainder of the European Union. Without a deal, visas and work permits may become the norm for those groups in their host countries. Whilst ideas like a form of “associate citizenship” for British citizens living in the EU27 are probably closer to wishful thinking than legally compliant reality, both sides have expressed a desire to reach an agreement on the status of these permanent residents. However, in a resolution, the European Parliament has already underlined that it will not accept any type of cut-off date preceding the UK’s departure from the EU in 2019. This is likely to constitute yet another red line for the May Government, once again as the Brexit referendum was centred on themes of sovereignty, limitations on immigration (which appears easier said than done) and restoration of control.

Finally, the UK will also need to deal with constitutional issues: Scotland is poised to launch a second independence referendum (even though this may be delayed due to disagreements between the British and the Scottish Governments) and Gibraltar has become a bone of contention between Spain and Britain. Meanwhile, in another constitutional development, the UK Government’s Brexit department has presented a White Paper on dealing with the legislative impact of Brexit. This includes repealing the European Communities Act 1972 (the UK statute authorizing membership of the EU), in the form of a Great Repeal Bill (which would enable the UK Government to enact legislative changes in a fast-track procedure). Further, there is the status of the currently “soft” border between the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland (which is one of the four constituent nations of the United Kingdom, besides England, Scotland and Wales).

And this does not even start to address the many intricacies involved, whether they are aviation rights, the financial services industry and the effect on UK higher education. Mrs May could very well find that finishing Brexit may be a lot harder than starting it. It will certainly be a leap into the unknown.

 This article is published on Law Blogs Maastricht

Members

Every Research Institute appoints two FPC members; a PhD coordinator and a PhD representative.
The FPC currently consists of the following members:
 

Chair
Janneke Frambach

Secretary
Ingrid Leijs

Advisors
FHML policy advisor for PhD affairs: Ingrid Leijs
PhD-representatives from the Faculty Council: Martina Paric

UM and national representation 
The Central PhD Candidates Platform (CPCP) represents PhD candidates on an UM inter-faculty level.
The PhD Candidates Network (PNN) represents PhD candidates on a national inter-university level.

FHML/MUMC+ and national representation
Esther van Santbrink represents MUMC+ in LOUP (National consultation UMC PhD candidates)

Faculty of Science and Engineering <a id="FSE" name="FSE"></a>

• Artifical Intelligence + Data Science for Decision Making  
• Biobased Materials 1  
• Biobased Materials 2  
• Public Policy & Human Development  
• Sustainability Science and Policy  
• Systems Biology  

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences <a id="FASoS" name="FASoS"></a>

• Arts and Heritage  
• Arts, Literature and Society 
• Labour Market Perspectives  
• European Studies  
• European Studies on Society, Science and Technology  
• Globalisation and Development Studies  
• Media Culture  
• Politics and Society  
• Research Master Cultures of Arts, Science and Technology  
• Research Master European Studies  

Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience <a id="FPN" name="FPN"></a>

Labour market perspectives  
 

Specialisations - Research Master in Cognitive Neuroscience

• Cognitive Neuroscience  
• Development Psychology  
• Forensic Psychology  
• Health and Social Psychology  
• Human Decision Science  
• Neuropsychology  
• Psychology and Law  
• Work and Organisational Psychology  
   

Research Masters

• Cognitive Neuroscience  
• Drug development and Neurohealth  
• Fundamental Neuroscience  
• Neuroeconomics  
• Neuropsychology  
• Psychopathology  

Faculty of Law <a id="LAW" name="LAW"></a>

HBO instroom informatie   
Labour Market Perspectives   
Welkomstwoord  
Word of Welcome  

• Master European Law School  
• Master Globalisation and Law     
• Master International Tax Law   
• Forensics, Criminology and Law  
• Forensica, Criminologie en Recht  
• Fiscaal recht  
• Handels- en ondernemingsrecht  
• Nederlands Recht Profiel Strafrecht  
• Recht en arbeid  
• Staats-en bestuursrecht  

School of Business and Economics <a id="SBE" name="SBE"></a>

Application and admissions
Labour market perspectives

• Business Intelligence and Smart Services  
• Human Decision Science  
• Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience - Neuroeconomics  
• Double degree programmes 
• Econometrics and Operations Research  
• Economics  
• Economics and Strategy in Emerging Markets  
• Entrepreneurship and SME Management  
• Financial Economics  
• Fiscal Economics  
• Global Supply Chain Management and Change  
• Management of Learning 
• Sustainable Finance  

International Business

• Accountancy  
• Controlling  
• Information Management and Business Intelligence  
• Marketing Finance  
• Organisation Management, Change and Consultancy  
• Strategic Corporate Finance  
• Strategic Marketing  
• Strategy and Innovation  
• Supply Chain Management   

Maastricht Mediation Clinic
In collaboration with Monique Benning and Mardoeka Christensen of Trajekt (a Maastricht based youth neighborhood mediation organisation), the MMC offers our students the opportunity to become student-mediators and conduct actual mediation sessions with the guidance of professional mediators. In addition to offering hands on clinical education, we also offer workshops and Master Classes on the issue of mediation, dispute resolution, and negotiations..

The Innovation Legal Aid Clinic
The Innovation Legal Aid Clinic provides pro-bono legal advice to independent artists. Participating students work in groups under the supervision of a member of staff and/or a lawyer to give answers to real-life intellectual property questions. Lawyers that collaborate with the IALC work in IP law firms such as Ventoux, AOMB and Ab Ovo.

Meet our Student Ambassadors

Master's programmes

Left-side choices

Right-side choices