News item | 14-04-2022 | 17:08
On 19 April 2022, delegations of the Dutch and Belgian governments will meet in Ghent for the so-called Thalassa consultation. The aim of these consultations is to further strengthen cross-border cooperation and illustrate the close bond between the Netherlands and Belgium.
During the plenary meeting, three themes are central: Safety and resilience, Sustainability and Cross-border cooperation. Prior to the joint meeting, the ministers and state secretaries of both countries hold bilateral consultations on various issues, including security, defence, justice, sustainability and mobility.
It is the fourth time that the Netherlands and Belgium have come together in this way. The Thalassa consultation owes its name to the ship where the consultations first took place in 2003.
In addition to Prime Minister Rutte and Belgian Prime Minister De Croo, participants in the consultation are from the Netherlands:
- Minister Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs
- Defense Minister Ollongren
- Minister Adriaansens of Economic Affairs and Climate
- Minister Yeşilgöz-Zegerius of Justice and Security
- Minister Bruins Slot of the Interior and Kingdom Relations
- Minister Harbers of Infrastructure and Water Management
- Minister Dijkgraaf of Education, Culture and Science
- Minister Jetten for Climate and Energy
- State Secretary van der Burg of Justice and Security
- State Secretary Heijnen of Infrastructure and Water Management
- State Secretary for Kingdom Relations and Digitization of Huffelen
- State Secretary for Fiscal Affairs and the Tax and Customs Administration
From the Belgian side these are:
- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Wilmès of Foreign Affairs, European Affairs and Foreign Trade, and of the Federal Cultural Institutions
- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Dermagne of Economy and Employment
- Deputy Prime Minister and Quickenborne Minister of Justice and the North Sea
- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance of Peteghem
- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister Gilkinet of Mobility
- Deputy Prime Minister and Minister De Sutter of the Civil Service, Public Enterprises, Telecommunications and Post
- Minister Dedonder of Defense
- Minister Verlinden of the Interior, Institutional Reforms and Democratic Renewal
- Minister Khattabi of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and Green Deal
- Minister van der Straeten of Energy
- Secretary of State Mahdi for Asylum and Migration
- State Secretary Schlitz, for Gender Equality, Equal Opportunities and Diversity