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Almost 20 years ago, in 2002, I had the honour to give one of the “William Harvey lectures” at the University of Padua, celebrating the 400th anniversary of the Englishman’s graduation with a degree in medicine from the famous Italian university.

More than ten years after the European Court of Justice ruled that the German Eigenheimzulage was in breach of European law, the EC also started questioning its successor, the Baukindergeld. ITEM had previously concluded that the Baukindergeld was in breach of European law. We now await the...

In its judgment of 19 September 2019, the ECJ ruled that Dutch legislation excluding frontier workers residing in the Netherlands but working as a mini-jobber in Germany from the Dutch social security system is compatible with EU law. If the Hoge Raad follows the approach taken by the ECJ, the...

This blog is currently only available in Dutch.

Op 22 mei 2019 verscheen de ‘Atlas voor gemeenten 2019’. De 50 grootste gemeenten van Nederland worden jaarlijks met elkaar vergeleken. Dat kunnen verschillende beleidsterreinen zijn waar lokale, regionale en centrale overheden zich mee bezighouden...

This blog is only available in Dutch.

Als je woont of werkt in een grensregio zijn daar zowel voor- als nadelen aan verbonden. Laat ik met het belangrijkste nadeel beginnen: Voor landelijke gebeurtenissen ben je een eind weg van daar waar het meest gebeurt. Dat zijn de grote Randsteden: als je pech...

Recently, the usage of English as the main language of Maastricht University has been disapproved by some noisy intellectuals who are frequenting talkshows for the elderly. According to these gurus, Dutch universities should stick to the Dutch language, especially in case of studies such as...

As exams are starting all over again, the library and university buildings become more crowded then ever. Finding a quiet study spot is not possible unless you will participate with the early morning German runs. Luckily there are some secret spots in Maastricht where you can find the peace and...

While I’m writing this blog I’m still calming down from my football match tonight. We lost again (but we finally scored!) and I got very mad (emotional like one of my teammates called it), and since the game was pretty late (10 p.m.), I still need calming down before I can sleep. But this will work.

So you are a prospective student and need to find your way around. You can stroll down the internet to find everything that you need before you arrive here. But why bother? Here’s a summary of some of the most basic things you need to know before you arrive.

The Netherlands; well known for its tolerant and laid back view on basically anything (except time). Being openly gay is not a problem. Euthanasia and Abortion are far from taboos anymore. But I guess especially our very tolerant drug policy is welcomed by most people from other countries. Too bad...