The Benelux Prime ministers discussed the state of the European Union in the aftermath of the Bratislava Summit and had an exchange of views on the next steps to take.

At the same time, the Benelux Prime ministers stressed the need to increase the EU’s overall competitiveness while safeguarding social and environmental standards. This can only be achieved when the single market functions properly. When it comes to the Digital Single Market, barriers to cross-border digital trade must be removed to enable European companies to become real digital champions, capable of competing on a global scale. The full benefits of the Digital Single Market must be made accessible to all stakeholders.

The Benelux Prime ministers adopted a joint declaration in which they underlined the ambition and potential of the three countries to act as a role model in advancing the Digital Single Market within the European Union and stated that "our three countries are ready to take the lead in the EU’s ambitious move towards 'smart Regions'."

Xavier Bettel said that "Benelux countries have been frontrunners in the past when it came to boosting our economies with ICT technology. Because of our open attitude, state-of-the-art broadband infrastructure with high levels of interconnection exists in all the Benelux countries and acts as a key driver for economic growth to both old and new business models. Our goal is to bring our digital ecosystems closer together, in order to accelerate the development of digital champions in the Benelux region."