“It is the expression of a Franco-Dutch rapprochement that it was time to recognize”, assures the Elysée.
Barely returned from China, Emmanuel Macron goes to the Netherlands. He is expected Tuesday, April 11 in Amsterdam, for the first state visit of a French president in this country since 2000.
“It is the expression of a Franco-Dutch rapprochement that it was time to recognize”, raises the Elysée. Franceinfo details the program for Emmanuel Macron’s two-day trip, accompanied for the occasion by eight members of the government.
A meeting with the royal couple
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron are due to arrive in Amsterdam on Tuesday morning. They will be welcomed by King Willem-Alexander and his wife, Maxima, during a ceremony accompanied by a review of the troops.
After a ceremony of meditation in front of the national monument in Dam Square, Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron are to have lunch with the King and Queen consort of the Netherlands.
A speech on the economic sovereignty of the European Union
The Head of State is due to deliver a speech on Tuesday afternoon on the economic and industrial sovereignty of the European Union, at the Nexus research institute in The Hague. Emmanuel Macron defends in particular a massive investment plan in the green industry in Europe in order to respond to that launched by Joe Biden. The European Union is also concerned about excessive dependence on China in certain strategic economic sectors.
“We don’t want to depend on others on critical issues”said Emmanuel Macron on Sunday in the French economic daily The echoes (article for subscribers). “The day when you no longer have a choice on energy, on how to defend yourself, on social networks, on artificial intelligence because we no longer have the infrastructure on these subjects, you go out history for a while”he argued.
A state dinner at the royal castle
Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron will be received at the royal castle on Tuesday evening. But they will not only go there together. The French presidency specifies that “additional guests, who come more from the cultural world” will accompany the presidential couple.
The signature of a “pact for innovation”
The signing of a “pact for innovation” is scheduled for Wednesday. The key: cooperation in semiconductors, quantum physics and energy. The French group STMicroeletronics and the Dutch company ASLM, two European semi-conductor heavyweights, already have joint projects.
Emmanuel Macron is due to visit the experimental quantum physics laboratory of the University of Amsterdam on Wednesday. Quantum physics, which makes it possible to multiply the computing power of computers, occupies an important place in this State visit. The Twenty-Seven also plan to invest seven billion euros in it, “an amount greater than what both the Americans and China are doing”boasts the Elysée. “But none of the European countries alone will succeed, we need collaboration, we need the strengths of each of the players”insists Paris.
“The state visit will help strengthen (..) joint efforts to make Europe stronger, greener and safer”, abounds the royal house of the Netherlands. But if it emphasizes, like Emmanuel Macron, on “European strategic autonomy”the team of the Dutch sovereign also insists on the necessary preservation of a “open economy”.
Working meetings between French and Dutch ministers
Eight members of the executive accompany Emmanuel Macron for this trip: Catherine Colonna, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Laurence Boone, Secretary of State for Europe, Agnès Pannier-Runacher, Minister of Energy Transition, Sylvie Retailleau, Minister of Higher Education and Research, Sébastien Lecornu, Minister of the Armed Forces, Gérald Darmanin, Minister of the Interior, Roland Lescure, Minister of Industry, and Clément Beaune, Minister of Transport .
Consultations between members of the French and Dutch governments are scheduled for Wednesday. On the program in particular is the finalization of a defense agreement by 2024. But they must also address subjects relating to sustainable growth, such as the battery sector, the exploitation of hydrogen for transport or even the single ticket, nationwide, to use public transport.
An economic delegation is also part of the trip. These are big companies “who have a specific interest in the Netherlands or who are, in one way or another, very intertwined with the Netherlands”, explains the French presidency. The latter quotes Air France-KLM, Euronext or Engie. The others are companies involved in quantum innovation.
A press conference with Prime Minister Mark Rutte
Emmanuel Macron will end his visit on Wednesday with an interview with Prime Minister Mark Rutte. The two men must give a joint press conference, the opportunity for them to display their good personal relationship.
The Netherlands, reputed to be more liberal and frugal within the European Union, has also moved closer to other European partners since the exit from the EU of its traditional ally, the United Kingdom. For his part, Emmanuel Macron has strengthened ties with other capitals, in particular Rome and Madrid, beyond the traditional Paris-Berlin axis, especially as his relationship with Chancellor Olaf Scholz remains to be built.
