On Monday 22 February 2016, the Luxembourg Presidency of the Benelux Committee of Ministers will be officially launched at the Abbaye de Neumünster.
Luxembourg's Minister of Foreign and European Affairs, Jean Asselborn, will act as chairman of the Benelux Committee of Ministers and will hold the launch in the presence of the Benelux College of Secretaries-General and the President of the Benelux Parliament. During the launch, the priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency and the Benelux work plan for 2016 will be presented.
2016 represents the second time in which Luxembourg assumes Presidency of the Benelux Committee of Ministers since the entry into force of the Benelux Treaty in 2012.
The 2016 annual plan outlines concrete actions that the three countries will look to undertake in the coming months. The priorities of the Luxembourg Presidency will figure within the framework of the implementation of the work plan. These priorities are not designed as isolated actions, but rather as part of concrete projects and cross-border collaboration in Benelux as a support mechanism of European integration.
Luxembourg's acquisition of the Benelux Presidency follows its 12th Presidency of the Council of the EU which it held from July to December 2015. The Grand Duchy will be looking to cooperate closely with the current Dutch Presidency of the Council of the EU in the first half of 2016 to fully assume the pioneering role of Benelux within the European Union.
The presentation of the Luxembourg Presidency priorities will be followed by a discussion with officials from the three countries on the role of Benelux collaboration within the European Union.
Photo by Sarah Graham (Jean Asselborn)
