The Dutch prime minister was warmly welcomed at the Élysée Palace on Wednesday. A visibly tired Emmanuel Macron, who consults for hours every day about the war in Ukraine and kicked off his election campaign on Monday, let the deal go ahead. This rendezvous was already concluded in August last year. Rutte came to Paris with five ministers, where they spoke with their French colleagues about sustainable energy, tackling drug trafficking and economic cooperation.
But when this agenda was set, no one could have imagined that Moscow would invade Ukraine. The war was therefore the main topic of discussion. “We have seen a heartless, cruel and merciless Putin in the past two weeks,” Rutte said in the courtyard of the Élysée. “And that is why it is very important that Europe stays together.”
“In order to guarantee Europe’s security, a strong European Union (EU) and a strong NATO are needed,” the prime minister said. “And a strong EU needs a strong, competitive economy.” Rutte pleaded for letting the debt mountain dwindle. He reiterated the importance he attaches to the rules of the Stability Pact: a budget deficit that does not exceed 3 percent of national wealth, and a debt that does not exceed 60 percent of that.
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pension fund
France is now almost double, because Macron unpacked to pay the corona bill. The French president recently called the same rules ‘outdated’ and would like to make new agreements. Nevertheless, the head of state continued to nod kindly to his Dutch colleague, even when he started talking about reforms. The president must have thought about his failed retirement plan at the time. Rutte also said that he was not referring to the extremely expensive system and the large deficits in the pension fund. “It’s not up to me to decide how countries do that.”
As a result of the war in Ukraine, the Netherlands grew closer to the French desire for its own European defence. Rutte again pleaded in Paris for higher expenditure and better cooperation in the military field. But he does rely more on NATO than Macron: according to Rutte, Europe needs the United States and Canada to defend itself.
“We stand for a united European Union, against Russian aggression and alongside the Ukrainians,” Rutte concluded. A message he will repeat at the informal summit Thursday and Friday in Versailles. He also expressed the wish that ‘cher Emmanuel’ be re-elected, in order to continue the collaboration.