Over €2.5 billion confirmed for Eindhoven area, technical education in bid to keep ASML

The Dutch government announced a plan on Thursday to invest a total of 2.51 billion euros in the Eindhoven region and in expanding the availability of technical education. The caretaker Cabinet will release 1.28 billion euros from the National Growth Fund for the plan, and will contribute an additional 450 million euros on top of that. The Eindhoven region will put up the remaining 780 million euros, said Economic Affairs Minister Micky Adriaansens.

It was rumored for several weeks that the Cabinet was rapidly trying to negotiate the deal, dubbed Project Beethoven, as one large business after another expressed their discontent with domestic policies in the Netherlands. Both NXP and ASML, the third largest company in Europe by market capitalization, expressed interest in relocating some operations outside of the Netherlands, while dredging firms Boskalis and Van Oord both made moves to expand in the United Arab Emirates.

The goal of the Cabinet's plan is to make the Eindhoven area, and the Netherlands as a whole, more attractive for highly-educated workers, with better access to education and improved infrastructure. The package will only move forward in its proposed form if ASML specifically stays in the country. "In these measures, the Cabinet assumes that ASML will make further investments in the Netherlands and maintain the location of its statutory, tax and actual headquarters in the Netherlands," the Cabinet said.

In the run up to both elections last year, but especially the November parliamentary election, politicians grew increasingly hostile towards immigration, the recruitment of highly skilled labor, higher education instruction in English, and the growth in foreign student numbers. The 30-percent income tax benefit for some expats was slashed in a rushed manner, and cuts could soon be reversed. Corporations could also face new taxes on share buy-back plans.

"In addition, the government will present alternatives to a number of tax measures for entrepreneurs in the short term." It will then be up to both houses of Parliament to decide how to proceed. Though it was early rumoured that Project Beethoven could also include a proposal to roll back the cuts to the 30 percent ruling, that measure was not announced right after the Council of Ministers meeting on Thursday afternoon.

Over 1 billion euros for Eindhoven infrastructure, and 425 million euros for more homes

The focus of the plan is on the Brainport Eindhoven high-tech campus and the surrounding region, and the microchip sector. The Cabinet said it was "committed to a level international playing field," repeating a talking point after Prime Minister Mark Rutte's trip to China this week. Current export regulations forbid ASML from sending their most advanced equipment to China, and could prevent them from repairing existing machinery located there.

A total of 1.06 billion euros will be spent on infrastructure improvements in the Eindhoven region, including 718 million euros from the national government. This will include expanding the Eindhoven Centraal train station, with better connections to domestic and international train service and more express buses. One of these could connect the station to Veldhoven, where ASML is headquartered. The goal is to connect all of the regional high-tech campuses, and more money has been earmarked for roads and highways there.

The plan also calls for 425 million euros to develop and construct 20,000 homes by the end of 2030. That total should be in addition to the 45,000 homes that the region has already announced, the Cabinet said. The funding will in part allow for investments in the quality of living in the area where the homes will be built.

450 million euros for education investments

The Cabinet will also spend 450 million euros more on higher education at all levels up to 2030. The goal will be to improve training for more technicians and education for people who want to pursue a career in the field. The funding will be spent not only in Eindhoven, but also the Groningen, Enschede and Delft regions. "Part of this plan is also to increase diversity within technology courses, in order to utilize all the talent," the Cabinet said.

The money will go towards higher vocational education, applied sciences universities and theoretical research universities. After 2030, they will then access an additional 80 million euros per year.