Emmanuel Macron visits the Netherlands amid pension crisis

Emmanuel Macron, on the steps of the Élysée, April 3, 2023. AP - Aurelien Morissard

Text by: RFI Follow

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Just back from a trip to China, Emmanuel Macron continues this Tuesday with a two-day state visit to the Netherlands with his wife.

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Emmanuel and Brigitte Macron are expected this Tuesday morning in Amsterdam. The presidential couple is welcomed by King Willem-Alexander and his wife Maxima, with a ceremonial accompanied by a review of the troops. A state dinner is also offered in their honor Tuesday evening at the royal castle.

Emmanuel Macron is pushing for a massive investment plan in green industry in Europe to respond to the one launched by Joe Biden. The EU is also concerned about over-dependence on China in some strategic economic sectors. Paris and The Hague will sign a "pact for innovation" on Wednesday, leading to cooperation in semiconductors, quantum physics and energy. France's STMicroeletronics and Netherlands' ASLM, two European semiconductor heavyweights, already have joint projects.

Seven French ministers are on the trip

The Head of State will be accompanied by seven ministers: Foreign Affairs, European, Armed Forces, Interior, Energy Transition, Industry, Research and Transport. He will also hold intergovernmental consultations with Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his team on Wednesday. The two leaders have a good personal relationship, while that between the French president and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has yet to be built.

The Netherlands, reputed to be more liberal and frugal within the EU, has also moved closer to other European partners since the exit of its traditional ally, the United Kingdom, from the Union. For his part, Emmanuel Macron has strengthened ties with other capitals, including Rome and Madrid, beyond the traditional Paris-Berlin axis. Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, the positions of Paris and The Hague have "converged" in terms of economic sovereignty, including industrial policy, the Elysée wants to believe.

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The State visit will strengthen (...) joint efforts to make Europe stronger, greener and safer ", adds the Royal House of the Netherlands. But if it emphasizes, like Emmanuel Macron, on "European strategic autonomy", the Royal Palace also insists on the need to preserve an "open economy". The two governments will also work to finalize a defense agreement by 2024.

A delicate political week

While the political week promises to be sensitive in France, Emmanuel Macron continues to honor his diplomatic agenda. This is the first visit of a French president to the Netherlands since 2000, explains the Elysee to justify the interest of this trip which begins just a few days before the announcement of the decision of the Constitutional Council on the pension reform, a crucial step, the end of the "democratic path" of the text, according to the expression of Emmanuel Macron himself.

Last week, the visit to China of the President of the Republic had already taken place against a backdrop of social protest, forcing him to pass messages on the national situation between two meetings with his Chinese counterpart. Rebelotte this week while another day of demonstration is planned Thursday, recalls Valérie Gas, of the political service of RFI.

But in the entourage of Emmanuel Macron, they insist on the stakes of these two days in the Netherlands. Beyond the ceremonial ceremonies and the state dinner hosted by King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima, the highlight of this visit will be the speech that Emmanuel Macron is to deliver this Tuesday at the Nexus Research Institute on Economic and Industrial Sovereignty of the European Union. A priority theme for the French president and around which he hopes to identify points of convergence with the Netherlands.

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• France
• Netherlands
• Emmanuel Macron