Foreign Minister Steinmeier will receive Their Majesties King Philippe and Queen Mathilde of Belgium at the Federal Foreign Office in the afternoon of 17 February. The King and Queen will be accompanied by Belgian Prime Minister Elio Di Rupo and Foreign Minister Didier Reynders. Foreign Minister Steinmeier and his guests will take part in the closing event of the fourth German Belgian Conference at the Federal Foreign Office.

Minister of State for Europe Michael Roth will open the Conference at 9.45 a.m. After that, participants will discuss the cross-cutting theme of the Conference, “Multifaceted neighbours with federal systems – what kind of Europe would Belgians and Germans like to see?”, in various panels. Foreign Ministers Steinmeier and Reynders will address the Conference with their closing remarks at 3.45 p.m.

Alongside Prime Minister Lambertz of the German speaking Community in Belgium, Regional Prime Minister Demotte of the Walloon Government and of the Government of the French Community, and Minister-President Peeters of the Flemish Government, the conference will be attended by European, Belgian and German parliamentarians, and senior members of various universities and associations.

Interpretation of the entire Conference will be available in German, French and Dutch.

You can follow the Conference on Twitter (#DeBeConf).

Please refer to the press information of the organiser, Europäische Bewegung Deutschland (European Movement Germany), for the complete Conference programme.

Press information (in German) PDF / 135 KB

Bilateral relations