News item | 08-06-2022 | 14:54
Prime Minister Mark Rutte received the Prime Minister of Wallonia, Elio Di Rupo, in The Hague on Tuesday 7 June. During the visit, a joint roadmap for the next 2 years was agreed. With this roadmap, the Dutch and Walloon governments want to strengthen cooperation on various topics, such as agriculture, public health, employment, research and innovation, the environment, spatial planning, and mobility.
Over the next two years, the Netherlands and Wallonia will set up a consultation structure that will meet once or twice a year to address border issues related to spatial planning and the environment. Lessons learned about the major floods of July 2021 will also be exchanged. Building on the developments of recent years, the Netherlands and Wallonia also intend to continue to encourage partnerships to improve knowledge about health, research and innovation.
The meeting was also an opportunity for the two heads of government to discuss key European issues and challenges. First of all, the war in Ukraine and the need for the European Union to reduce energy dependence on Russian fossil fuels and, more generally, to accelerate the energy transition, but also to strengthen European defense within the framework of the EU and NATO . The two heads of government also shared their views on the rules for economic governance within the EU and discussed EU trade policy.