Outgoing Prime Minister Rutte fully understands French anger over the failure of the submarine deal with Australia, but stresses the importance of a “practical and pragmatic approach” to the matter. Rutte said this to BNR foreign commentator Bernard Hammelburg in New York where he is attending the UN meeting.
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Understanding the French position
I understand the French position very well. I can understand that they are very angry about it,” says the prime minister, who described it as “good” that French President Macron and his American colleague Biden called each other.” This phone call seems to have eased the tension. We understand the French outrage and anger: this goes far beyond losing a contract. It also has to do with the effectiveness of the European Union and NATO in the Indo-Pacific, it goes beyond the submarine deal. It’s really much broader, it’s also about etiquette among each other.
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“Many issues between the United States and the United Kingdom”
The outgoing prime minister does not want to go so far as to say that the failed deal can be reduced to a US option for Boris Johnson, not the EU: “I don’t know if it’s black and white, because there are still a lot of issues between the US and the UK. Think about The very big topic of a free trade deal is difficult, I think this needs to be looked at in a practical and practical way.There is always a strong bond between the US and the UK, but there is also a very strong bond between the US and Europe and the EU.
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According to the outgoing prime minister, this certainly applies to the Netherlands, which he calls “the most transatlantic country in Europe” after the United Kingdom. “Probably number one in this regard after the UK’s exit from the European Union.”
