Benelux countries discuss border controls at final summit hosted in Brussels
Outgoing Belgian prime minister Alexander De Croo hosted the leaders of the Netherlands and Luxembourg in Brussels on Tuesday for the last Benelux summit under the Belgian presidency in 2024. A major topic of discussion was the temporary introduction of border controls by the Netherlands.
Following in the footsteps of Germany and France, the Netherlands will introduce border controls at the end of November in an attempt to stop illegal migration. De Croo raised the issue on Tuesday during a meeting with Dutch prime minister Dick Schoof and Luxembourg prime minister Luc Frieden.
The free movement of goods and people in the Schengen area "forms the backbone of the internal market and makes the Benelux an important economic ecosystem within Europe", De Croo said in a press release. Belgium is particularly keen to avoid any disruption to trade.
German cooperation
De Croo, Schoof and Frieden also discussed international geopolitical issues. Later, the prime minister of the German region of North Rhine-Westphalia joined the meeting to discuss how to strengthen European competitiveness. The Einstein telescope, which Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany want to build underground in their border region, was also discussed.
The Benelux countries organise several summits each year, and the presidency rotates each year. Belgium chaired the summits in 2024, and responsibility will pass to Luxembourg from 1 January.
#FlandersNewsService | © BELGA PHOTO ERIC LALMAND
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