Luxembourg

The Netherlands and eight other European countries are calling on the European Union to implement a tax on air travel. The governments of the nine countries signed a manifesto calling on the European Commission to come up with a proposal on this front, which will be handed to European Commissioner Frans Timmermans.

If a few years ago choosing a country to open a company was quite easy, nowadays competitiveness among governments has made the decision a hard one, especially when coming from a country like the Netherlands. While the Dutch already offer an excellent infrastructure and corporate taxation system, Europe has several countries which boast similar facilities and where Dutch entrepreneurs and companies looking to expand may do so with little concern.

The Netherlands is going to work for a better legal position for Dutch flight staff working for foreign airlines. The Dutch government teamed up with Belgium, Denmark, France, Germany and Luxembourg to tackle this problem together in Europe, NOS reports.

The Netherlands had the sixth highest hourly wage in the European Union's business sector with an average of 38.80 euros last year. Denmark came in first place with 42,50 euros, according to European stats office Eurostat, ANP reports.

The public- and agricultural sectors are not included in these figures. 

In addition to Denmark, employers in Belgium, Luxembourg, Sweden and France also spent more on their employees' wages than the Netherlands. Bulgaria had the lowest hourly wage at only 4.90 euros gross. 

The Netherlands is the number one choice in the world for multinationals to funnel money into tax havens, according to a study done by researchers at the University of Amsterdam. The researchers concluded that 23 percent of capital flows through the Netherlands go towards tax havens, ANP reports.

Britain comes in second place with 14 percent, followed by Switzerland with 6 percent, Singapore with 2 percent and Ireland with 1 percent. Together these five countries account for nearly half of the money globally funneled towards tax havens. 

The Netherlands' labor market is doing fantastically - unemployment continues to fall, just like unemployment benefits, and vacancies are on the rise. But the wages in the country are lagging behind the economic recovery and that must change, Christine Lagarde, director of the International Monetary Fund, said in Luxembourg on Thursday, Metro reports.

The Netherlands is one of the most economically stable countries in the world, according to a report published by consulting and accounting firm KPMG on Friday. KPMG ranks Netherlands in second place, after Switzerland in first place and before Luxembourg in third. Hong Kong and Norway make up the top five, ANP reports.

According to KPMG those are the five countries that are macro-economically the most stable - they have a good infrastructure and a highly educated population. They are above average on involvement in the world economy and have very strong public institutions.

The Netherlands, Germany Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Denmark, Ireland, Sweden and Norway are teaming up to research technologies to generate renewable energy in the North Sea and to plan the construction of offshore wind turbines. These "North Sea countries" will ratify their agreements at the Energy Council in Luxembourg on Tuesday

Film lovers in the Benelux region will have to travel to Amsterdam Noord if they want the chance to watch Quentin Tarantino’s latest film, The Hateful Eight, on 70mm film. The EYE film institute is the only theater in the area expected to screen the American director’s movie in that format, according to distributor Entertainment One.

“Countires that do not take back failed asylum seekers should be dealt with harshly” are the sentiments of Justice Secretary Dijkhoff when he spoke to European leaders in Luxemburg on Thursday regarding the maintenance of relations amung European nations, reported NOS. The Justice Secretary has called on economic sanctions against countries who withdraw their aid from the current refugee crisis.

An Austrian politician has accused the German secret service and telecommunications company Deutsche Telekom of intercepting internet traffic to the Netherlands, among others.