Prime Minister of Luxembourg Xavier Bettel (L), Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte (C) and Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel pose for photos at the Catshuis in The Hague, the Netherlands, on Nov. 8, 2017. During the annual Benelux summit, this time in The Hague, the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg on Wednesday expressed the ambition to more extensive cooperation on dealing with cross-border crime and terrorism. (Xinhua/Sylvia Lederer)
THE HAGUE, Nov. 8 (Xinhua) -- During the annual Benelux summit, this time in The Hague, the Prime Ministers of the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg on Wednesday expressed the ambition to more extensive cooperation on dealing with cross-border crime and terrorism.
"We are convinced that we have to further extend our police cooperation and we are preparing to strengthen this cooperation," said Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel during a press moment in The Hague.
"Not only in the fight against terror, but also in preventive cooperation on security and to protect our citizens and also in exchanging information, which is crucial for our security services. This is an important breakthrough in our joint fight against cross-border crime," Michel said.
"The Benelux partnership is a way for our three countries to tackle transnational challenges and play a pioneering role in Europe," Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte stated.
"The Benelux is an incubator for further action in moving forward in the European Union," Xavier Bettel, Prime-Minister of Luxembourg added.
The last Benelux treaty on the cross-border fight against crime dates from 2004, the Senningen Treaty, and the Benelux countries already agreed last year to get more possibilities to chase criminals across their common borders. Now Rutte, Michel and Bettel urged their Ministers of Interior and Justice and Security to come with an update and prepare a new treaty for 2018.
The three PM's started the Summit of the Benelux, a politico-economic union of the three neighboring states, on Wednesday at the Catshuis in The Hague, the official residence of Dutch PM Rutte, to speak about cross-border issues, such as the economy, transport and security. After that they had a working dinner at the Gemeentemuseum, an art museum in The Hague, in which they mainly spoke on sustainability and innovation, the central themes of the Summit, with business and science experts.
With the United Nations Climate Change Conference currently taking place in Bonn, Germany, the Benelux countries expressed a common ambition in making an energy transition, from polluting emissions to a world of more sustainable energy.
"The Climate Agreement of Paris is, as liberal Prime Ministers, an enormous opportunity to tackle global warming, while creating additional growth and jobs," Rutte said.
"The global cooperation is still in the early stages on climate change, but the Benelux also wants to take a leading role in the European Union on this subject."
