Austria – Meeting between Clément Beaune and his Austrian counterpart (2 February 2021)

Clément Beaune, Minister of State for European Affairs, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, will receive Karoline Edtstadler, Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs, in Paris on February 2.

This meeting is taking place three months after the attack which plunged Austria into mourning. As Jean-Yves Le Drian underscored following this heinous attack, our fight against deadly acts of barbarism is ongoing. Clément Beaune visited Vienna on November 9 to express France’s solidarity with the Austrian authorities and people. The following day, President Macron received Chancellor Sebastian Kurz at the Élysée Palace, as well as German Chancellor Angela Merkel, President of the European Council Charles Michel and President of the European Commission Ursula von der Leyen to jointly discuss the fight against terrorism.

The minister of state and Karoline Edtstadler will review the follow-up to the joint statement on the fight against terrorism adopted by the EU Foreign Affairs Council on November 17.

They will discuss avenues for cooperation in order to promote joint solutions at the bilateral as well as European level with respect to the major challenges facing our two countries: the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic and its variants, migration management and the functioning of the Schengen area, protection of the rule of law, the green recovery, international trade negotiations and post-Brexit relations with the United Kingdom.