Clément Beaune, Minister of State for European Affairs, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, was in Rome on March 11-12.
There he met with European Affairs Minister Vincenzo Amendola, with whom he discussed the health situation and the need for Europe-wide coordination on measures to halt the epidemic as well as vaccine strategies. They also spoke about the European recovery effort designed to deal with the economic consequences of the health crisis, the Pact on Migration and Asylum, and reforming the Schengen area. Lastly, they exchanged views on the future bilateral treaty between France and Italy aimed at strengthening cooperation between our two countries.
26th Franco-Spanish Summit - Joint Declaration (Montauban, 15 Mar. 2021) Share
1. As friendly neighbouring States and allies on the European and international stages, France and Spain have developed a relationship of exceptional confidence, supported by very close human ties.
2. At this 26th Franco-Spanish Summit, our two countries have celebrated their historic ties, including the memory of almost 500,000 republican refugees who left Spain for France from 1939, many of whom later contributed to its liberation. Our two countries have launched joint work in key fields for the future, including the ecological transition, the digital sector and regulated management of migration. France and Spain sought to deepen their ties of bilateral cooperation in support of the prosperity, security and mobility of their citizens, recalling their support for a more sovereign, sustainable, social and crisis-resilient Europe.
La Francophonie, an area of multilateral cooperation Share
The Francophonie is a an institution organizing relations between countries which have the French language in common. Léopold Sédar Senghor, Habib Bourguiba, Hamani Diori and Norodom Sihanouk were the founding fathers of the Francophonie institution which was created in 1970 in Niamey under the name Cultural and Technical Cooperation Agency. It became the Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie in 1998 and then the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF) in 2005. Its aim is to promote the French language and cooperation between the 84 Member States and governments. This aim is formalized in the Charter of La Francophonie, adopted in 1997 at the Hanoi Summit and amended by the Ministerial Conference in 2005 at Antananarivo.