The corona crisis and international business

Each country is taking measures to support entrepreneurs cope with the corona crisis. The consequences for your business depend on the measures taken by the country you do business in or with. The European Commission, meanwhile, has launched a package of measures to support businesses, plus guidelines to continue to ensure free movement of goods.

Re-open Europe: EU travel information website

The EU has launched a website, Re-open Europe, that allows you to find all the up-to-date travel advice and information on rules and restrictions on the EU Member States.

Corona information and support per country

Several Chambers of Commerce and national corona websites are listed here. Also, you will find a link to the country information published by the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) where it is available. The list is not complete, but is constantly updated.

Business loan for Dutch companies

If you have a company in the Netherlands, but live abroad inside the EER or Switzerland, you can apply for a business loan for your company from the municipality of Maastricht. This is part of the Tozo scheme. You cannot make use of the Tozo cost of living support, only of the business loan. To apply for cost of living support, contact the social services of the country where you live.

Germany

On the German Chamber of Commerce (Deutsche Industrie- und Handelskammertag, DIHK) website you can find an overview of the current developments, frequently asked questions (FAQ) about the corona crisis by entrepreneurs and an overview of the situation in other global regions.

See also: the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) information on doing business with Germany.

Austria

The Austrian Chamber of Commerce (Wirtschaftskammer Österreich, WKO) provides on overview with FAQ, which is available in other languages, such as English and Turkish. On the website you can also find a general checklist for companies affected by the corona crisis. WKO also gives an overview with the situation in other countries, a list of support measures for each business sector and various webinars for international businesses.

Luxembourg

The Luxembourg Chamber of Commerce’s measures to support businesses can be found here. You can also call the business helpline for corona related questions.

France

The French Chamber of Commerce (Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie , CCI) provides an overview with government measures and a FAQ for entrepreneurs.

See also: the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) information on doing business with France.

Belgium

The Brussels Chamber of Commerce (BECI) offers an emergency number and a brief overview page with information about the corona crisis. The Flemish Chamber of Commerce (VOKA) also has an overview page an FAQ, and a page on how to apply for the support measures. Several Walloon Chamber of Commerce provide news and information on a daily basis.

See also: the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) information on doing business with Belgium.

Ireland

The Irish Chamber of Commerce Chambers offers an overview page and has published a list of useful sources of information.

United Kingdom (during Brexit transition phase)

The British Chamber of Commerce has set up a so-called Coronavirus Hub. The Coronavirus hub contains an overview with questions and answers, including government measures.

On the website of the British government itself, there is also a dedicated business support portal dealing with the corona measures. There you will also find an online tool to quickly find out for which schemes you are eligible, if you are UK-based.

See also: the Netherlands Enterprise Agency (RVO) information on doing business with the UK.

USA

Check the Netherlands Enterprise Agency website for information on doing business with the United States of America.

Travel restrictions and exemptions

There are travel restrictions in place for travel into the Netherlands for most non-EEA countries. These can be lifted or re-instated for individual countries, according to the current situation there. The restrictions apply to travellers without valid residence permits or visa. An exception to the ban is in place for food, medicine and medical equipment transports. Certain types of travellers are also exempt from the ban, see Government.nl for a list. For full and up to date details on who is and who is not allowed to travel into the Netherlands, check the Government.nl Visiting the Netherlands page.

European Commission initiatives

The European Commission is taking extensive measures to help reduce the impact of the coronavirus on health and economy across the EU. These are divided into different areas:

Enterprise Europe Network: Care & Industry together against Corona - online platform

EEN hosts the international online Care & Industry together against Corona platform, designed to bring together healthcare and industry businesses from all over the EU, in an effort to:

Gather and showcase initiatives, offers and needs in the short term
Foster interaction between healthcare, industry, support organisations, government, academia and others
Maximise the reliability of the proposals

If you have a business and would like to connect with other businesses to develop a product, help each other out with advice, or gain access to international markets, you can become a member of the platform. Topics include corona measures and support, emergency medicine and hygiene, but also IT, gaming technology, and consumer goods. The platform will be available until at least 31 December 2020.