Austria – Visit by Amélie de Montchalin to Salzburg and Vienna (11-12 Jun. 2020)

Amélie de Montchalin, Minister of State for European Affairs, attached to the Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, is visiting Salzburg and Vienna from June 11 to 12.

Amélie de Montchalin will thank the governor of the province of Salzburg, as well as hospital staff, for receiving French patients from the Grand-Est region at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. All French patients received in Salzburg have now recovered and been able to return home.

The minister of state will meet with her Austrian counterpart, Karoline Edtstadler, notably in order to discuss the European recovery plan and the European budget for 2021-2027, in the run-up to the video conference of European affairs ministers of the 27 member states on June 16 in preparation for the video conference of the heads of state and government on June 19. The two ministers will seek to bring the positions of France and Austria closer together with the aim of making progress toward an early agreement on providing extensive European support to the sectors and regions most affected by the crisis in order to revitalize European economies for the benefit of all member states. With respect to the 2021-2027 budget, the minister of state will reaffirm the importance of an ambitious budget in support of programs that contribute to European sovereignty, such as the Common Agricultural Policy - which is also very important to Austria -, defense and space policy.

They will also discuss the need for European coordination on the lifting of restrictions at internal and external borders, on defending the rule of law and European values, and on negotiations relating to our future relationship with the United Kingdom.

Lastly, the two ministers will exchange views on our two countries’ shared desire to reflect on the lessons to be learned from the crisis and the future of the European project, with the participation of our citizens via the Conference on the Future of Europe. That initiative must facilitate a democratic debate to make Europe more sovereign, more inclusive and more responsive.

Ms. de Montchalin will also meet with French and Austrian investors to discuss the European recovery plan.