Five MP's ditch ASML conference panel as pressure to keep expat workers grows

ASML CEO Peter Wennink said he was “annoyed” that several politicians scheduled to attend an invitation-only conference about the attractiveness of the Netherlands for tech start-ups cancelled at the last minute. Five of the cancellations came from current members of Parliament. After the event, Wennink met with caretaker Prime Minister Mark Rutte.

"I am annoyed for the simple reason that this gathering is also important for the politicians. Six MPs were invited, but five of them cancelled this morning. This is about the future earning capacity of the Netherlands," Wennink said after a panel discussion with Minister Micky Adriaansens of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate Policy. He perceived the cancellation as an illustration of the lack of interest in growing and keeping innovative companies.

Wennink said he thinks this type of attitude is dangerous as the Netherlands is at risk of becoming dependent on other countries without specific innovations. "We would then become consumers of the value that others are creating, which will cost a great deal of money," he said at the State of Dutch Tech event.

The Cabinet is working on a plan to keep ASML in the Netherlands. The company makes advanced machinery to produce computer chips that are then sold to organizations in countries like China and the United States. Wennink said that he expected to inform the prime minister about what he thinks is essential for the business climate. "I will speak about the problems and how we should solve them. It is not just about the ASML problems. It is about the problems in the Netherlands and the country's earning capacity," Wennink said.

At the same time, it is not clear whether ASML will expand in the Netherlands. "We need to reach the conclusion that we can grow responsibly in the Netherlands. And we have not come to that conclusion yet."

Like other companies, ASML is anticipating the possible reduction or elimination of a favorable tax measure for highly-skilled labor hired abroad. The government should also facilitate cooperation between universities and the business communities more, according to Wennink. He said that researchers have enough good ideas but lack the proper contacts. Universities also wrongly fear their academic freedom is at stake when collaborating with companies. "That academic freedom will always be there," according to Wennink.

The municipality of Veldhoven has said that they share the concerns that the Cabinet has around the business climate in the Netherlands regarding large companies like ASML, said a spokesperson to the Noord-Brabant municipality. It was reported on Wednesday that the Cabinet is working on a plan to keep ASML in the Netherlands.

The spokesperson said that a letter has been sent to the Cabinet with an urgent request for them to look into the struggling business climate.

Sources say that Prime Minister Mark Rutte and several other ministers are using the code word “Beethoven” for their plans to see what can be done to match ASML's needs.

Wennink acknowledged after meeting Rutte that ASML and the outgoing Cabinet agree on most topics. He is mainly looking at the Tweede Kamer as the Cabinet is “Really listening” to ASML’s worries. But Wennink sees a “gap in what the world of business is doing and what the political world thinks is necessary.”

“We agree on where the Netherlands should go,” Wennink told RTL Nieuws about his conversation with Rutte and caretaker Economic Affairs Minister Micky Adriaansens. His previous comments about being restrained when considering expansion in the Netherlands led to some panic in The Hague in January.

The Eindhoven chip manufacturer NXP Semiconductors is also concerned about the business climate in the Netherlands. This also applies to measures that make it less attractive or more difficult for highly-skilled workers from abroad to come to the Netherlands, a company spokesperson said. “We welcome any support from the government to maintain or improve the business climate in the Netherlands,” said the NXP spokesman.

Adriaansens said at the tech meeting earlier on Wednesday that politicians are indeed not doing enough to continue to maintain connections between companies like ASML and the Netherlands. Wennink indicated that other countries are also trying to attract the chip machine manufacturer. “The red carpet is rolled out everywhere we go,” he said.