Emmanuel Macron will make a state visit to the Netherlands on Tuesday and Wednesday, the first by a French president since 2000, a sign of a new dynamic between the two countries since the turning point of Brexit, the Elysee said on Thursday.
President Macron will be accompanied by his wife Brigitte and seven ministers (Foreign and European Affairs, Armed Forces, Interior, Energy Transition, Industry, Research and Transport).
“
It is the expression of a Franco-Dutch rapprochement, it was time to recognize it, the result of a form of European tectonics
”, underlined the French presidency.
Look for new cooperations
With Brexit, the Netherlands lost an important ally within the European Union, which led them to seek other cooperation.
"
Since the start of the war in Ukraine, positions have converged
", particularly on European sovereignty, still notes the Elysée, where The Hague was traditionally perceived as "
more liberal and economical
" and Paris more "
solidarity and protectionist
" .
The visit will include a more solemn part on Tuesday, with official ceremonies and a state dinner at the Royal Palace in Amsterdam at the invitation of King Willem-Alexander and his wife Maxima.
The French president will also deliver a speech on "
European sovereignty in economic and industrial matters
" at the Nexus Institute on Tuesday in The Hague.
He will present on this occasion "
a doctrine of economic security
" against China, from which he will have just returned, and the United States, actively engaged in the development of their green industry.
Cooperations in semiconductors
On Wednesday, Emmanuel Macron will visit the quantum physics laboratories of the University of Amsterdam and then hold intergovernmental consultations with the Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, the third since 2021. The two countries will sign a "pact for innovation and
growth sustainability
”, with the key to cooperation in semiconductors, quantum physics and energy, all areas in which the EU intends to strengthen its independence.
The French STMicroeletronics and the Dutch ASLM, two European semi-conductor heavyweights, already have joint projects.
On the quantum side, the Research Ministers of the two countries will sign an agreement to strengthen the coordination of the French and Dutch “
ecosystems
”.
In this field, the French start-up Pasqal, founded by the Nobel Prize in Physics Alain Aspect, has merged with the Dutch Qu&Co to create a European leader.
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The two governments will also work to finalize a defense agreement by 2024. The French Naval Group is also in the running - with the German ThyssenKrupp and the Swedish Kockums - for the delivery of four submarines to the The Netherlands.
The subject will be addressed by President Macron during the visit, said the Elysee.
