Belgium and France want to cooperate more in the field of energy and defense | Interior

“Some of you dreamed that I would announce an agreement with Engie on the extension of two nuclear power plants. I will not hold back the tension any longer: it is not yet the case, although the talks are progressing well and I have high hopes,” Prime Minister Alexander De Croo said with the necessary irony during a joint press conference with his French colleague Elisabeth Borne.

“In the field of offshore wind energy, we continued to talk about the commitments made by our two countries last week in Ostend (…) We Belgians only dream of one thing, namely that our companies and our technologies are used to power the wind turbines off the French coast.”

Nuclear was also discussed. “The fact that France and Belgium have a nuclear future is a good thing for both countries,” said the prime minister. He recalled that Belgium is investing 100 million euros in research into SMRs, the next generation of small modular reactors.

It also led to the official signing of a statement of support for the establishment of Rely. This is a collaboration between the French industrial group Technip Energies and John Cockerill from Liège. The project mainly revolves around green hydrogen.

Both countries are also committed to enhancing their defense cooperation. “Russian aggression against Ukraine has shown the need to strengthen defense cooperation. In this sense, the two countries will work on strengthening their defense industries and promoting industrial and commercial synergies. This is how we gain competitiveness, innovative capacity and strategic autonomy,” De Croo stated.

The first Val Duchesse meeting took place in 2016 at Val Duchesse, after the terrorist attacks that hit Paris and then Brussels. The meetings serve to boost cooperation in the fields of the Interior, Justice, Defense and foreign affairs. During this meeting, an extra emphasis was placed on drug smuggling. The new national drug commissioner Ine Van Wymersch was also present.

The statement states that Belgium and France want to increase their cooperation. Special attention is paid to organized crime, which threatens to move from Antwerp to the ports of Dunkirk and Le Havre. “The increase in dug smuggling leads to arms smuggling and settlements,” said Borne. She underlined the importance of a coordinated response. France therefore wants to strengthen judicial cooperation in the northern ports.