Prime Minister Alexander De Croo meets with French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne on Friday to discuss French-Belgian cooperation in the fight against terrorism, reports Belga News Agency.
De Croo will be joined by Minister of Justice Vincent Van Quickenborne, Minister of the Interior Annelies Verlinden, Minister of Foreign Affairs Hadja Lahbib, and the newly-created Drug Commissioner Ine Van Wymersch. The meeting is the fourth in the so-called 'Val Duchesse' format and will take place in Paris at the Matignon, the official residence and office of the French Prime Minister.
The French delegation will include the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin, the Minister of Europe and Foreign Affairs Catherine Colonna, as well as the Minister of Justice Eric Dupond-Moretti.
The bilateral meeting was initiated after the terror attacks in France and Belgium in 2015 and 2016 respectively, with the aim of improving coordination between the two countries.
The Belgian Coordination Unit for Threat Analysis (CUTA) currently estimates that the terrorist threat level in Belgium stands at 2 on a scale of 1 to 4 – meaning that an attack is unlikely. Meanwhile, France is under an “enhanced security plan” due to a high terrorist threat, Euractiv reports.
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This year’s bilateral meeting will focus on the follow-up of terrorism trials and cooperation for information exchange. The fight against drug trafficking, illegal immigration and extremism is also on the agenda.
The Prime Ministers' Offices have also announced that there will be "green economy" discussions. The meeting will provide an opportunity for the two leaders to discuss Rely, the recently announced joint venture for green hydrogen, Euractiv reports. Belgian company John Cockerill and French Technip Energies are behind the Rely initiative.
The French government is in the midst of its 100 day-deadline for "appeasement". After months of angry protests fuelled by the pension reform and its forced enactment, President Macron promised that he would "build a new pact." Prime Minister Borne announced the "100 day-deadline" last week, but the situation remains tense, as just a few days later May Day protests erupted into violence.
