The B-Solutions workshop took place on 14 June 2023, organised by ITEM, GIP Aachen/Eurode and AEBR, in cooperation with the Benelux Union, as part of a B-Solutions project funded by DG REGIO. With a focus on the border regions between Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium, the workshop examined solutions in the areas of teleworking, cross-border working, taxation and social insurance issues, explored how they can be solved within new frameworks at EU and Member State level, and discussed the role of key organisations in implementing the recommendations of this B-Solutions case.
In attendance were the Secretariat-General of the Benelux Union, researchers, experts from ministries and border regions in Benelux and Germany, as well as representatives of the European Commission and the Benelux Parliament. There was room for both general presentations, giving an overview of recent developments, and more concrete exchanges through panel discussions.
Complicating the issue is the coordination of social security (Regulation 883/2004); in the tax area, there is no European coordination regulation, but bilateral tax treaties. For social security, a solution has been found in the form of the framework agreement, which is considered a best practice for cross-border cooperation between member states. Although it is a European issue, member states have resolved it jointly on a temporary basis (pending structural embedding in the regulation). A structural solution – e.g. amending Regulation 883/2004 – is still pending. While at EU and OECD level, more general solutions are being worked on so that frontier workers can work from home under the best conditions without negative consequences, there are also specific legal/political instruments at Benelux level to reach a solution. The mantra that resonated during the workshop was therefore to work towards a similar harmonised framework for taxation, possibly first within the Benelux and then at the European level. In addition, during the workshop, all speakers strongly advocated the creation of uniform definitions when it comes to ‘teleworking/homeworking’, as practice shows that existing definitions still vary widely.
A concise report with the main points and conclusions can be found here:
Report Solving obstacles to cross-border telework 14 June 2023