Deteriorating Business Climate in the Netherlands: Concerns from Employer Organizations

ANP Industrial site De Binckhorst in The Hague

NOS Nieuws•vandaag, 06:00

Employer organizations are concerned about the business climate in the Netherlands. Due to unclear government policy, for example regarding permits, companies choose to make new investments abroad instead of in the Netherlands. VNO-NCW and MKB-Nederland warn about this in a letter to the House of Representatives, where the subject will be debated this week.

“Investments are the engine of the economy. Ultimately, we use them to pay our agents, nurses and teachers,” says Ingrid Thijssen, chairman of VNO-NCW. “We see that engine stalling.”

According to the employers’ organizations, new rules are devised too often, rules are changed or reversed. “You have to imagine that if you make an investment as an entrepreneur, for example in a new factory, you are taking a financial risk,” says Thijssen. “You invest your own money or you borrow it from the bank. Then you want to be sure about the rules that apply to you. And that also applies to taxes.”

Recently, research commissioned by the Ministry of Economic Affairs showed that the business community is concerned about a number of issues. For example, companies experience insufficient available space and electrical grid capacity. According to them, there is also a lack of well-trained talent and housing for those talents. Entrepreneurs indicate that this makes them reluctant to invest.

Growth stalls

Concerns about the business climate and investments are not new. During the previous cabinet formation in 2021, 120 municipalities, universities, professors and deputies already signed up to an employer manifesto on this matter. Since then, concerns about investments have only increased, says VNO-NCW. “More investments are now leaving the Netherlands than coming in. Expansion and replacement are increasingly happening abroad.”

In addition, employer organizations see that the growth of companies in the Netherlands is stalling. “Over the past ten years, more companies have shrunk than grown.” The number of employees within SMEs and larger companies was examined.

Unstable government

Entrepreneurs themselves also no longer view the Netherlands so positively. A poll by employers’ organizations shows that 60 percent of entrepreneurs believe that the business climate has deteriorated in recent years. Three quarters of entrepreneurs find Dutch government policy unstable.

This creates uncertainty for companies. For example, about whether or not to obtain permits and insufficient space on the power grid. In addition, the companies want the government to continue to adhere to international agreements and not restrict labor migration.

“We also believe that there should be more control over migration. But it is also important that the Netherlands remains open for knowledge workers and for workers who work in tight sectors such as healthcare and technology.”

Despite these warnings, the Netherlands still ranks high in most international rankings on the business climate. They only look back in time and not forward, the employers’ organizations warn.

2024-01-22 05:00:02
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