NETHERLANDS - Representatives of the Dutch government party the Christian Democrats have raised the prospect of vetoing the proposed EU directive on pensions portability at the European Council.

CDA MPs Jan Jacob van Dijk and Pieter Omtzigt told IPE that while the proposal could have positive effects for some European countries, it would only have negative repercussions for the Netherlands.

They were concerned that the plan does not take into account the specific Dutch situation.

The comments are the latest in a series of negative reaction to the proposal - most recently from the European Federation for Retirement Provision.

Omtzigt - the CDA's pensions spokesman - said: "In the Netherlands we have saved around €600bn in our pension system, which is largely a savings system.

"However, in most other European countries the pension system is based on a pay-as-you-go system, meaning no savings exists at all.

"To prevent the possibility that part of the Dutch pension savings are leaving the country, we feel that it will be better not to allow portability of pension savings.

"We urge the EU and the government to search for ways to set up a system in which pensions from different countries will be able to put together, which could be based on national pension savings overviews.

"In this way, people working in different countries during their career will be able to collect a much better and higher pension. You also will be able to set up a system in which you can switch more easily."

Van Dijk stated that they want to have a full and clearer explanation of the implementation and results of the directive.

"To prevent the possibility that we are going to be confronted by negative effects after implementation, we now have asked the Dutch parliament to hold a technical session on the issue.

"In that way, the Dutch government will be able to put into place a more pro-active policy by assessing possible repercussions before implementation.

"We should not forget that the Dutch have a veto possibility in the European Council regarding the whole directive.

"We should keep in mind that the Dutch system is special, unique, so we cannot be careful enough", van Dijk stated.

Elsewhere, reports stated today that the large Dutch pension funds ABP, PGGM and Spoorweg had voiced opposition to an early merger of Euronext and Deutsche Boerse.