On Tuesday 13 December, government experts on hunting held online consultations. This consultation was held to follow up an earlier request by the French Biodiversity Agency to the Benelux Secretariat-General to organise a consultation, broadened to include the neighbouring German states of the Benelux (North Rhine-Westphalia, Rhineland-Palatinate, Lower Saxony and Saarland) on hunting in the Benelux territory and that of the Grande Région, including on the topics of hunting exams, huntable species or still safety aspects. 

The renewed Benelux Union Treaty of 2012, signed by the governments of the three Benelux countries, encourages the strengthening of cooperation between the Benelux countries and their neighbours, both at central and decentralised level. On the occasion of the summit of the prime ministers of the three Benelux countries held on 28 November, Xavier Bettel underlined that synergy with the neighbouring regions is an essential tool, as already indicated in the priorities of the Luxembourg presidency. 

Among the challenges mentioned, some are shared by the various cooperation partners. These include, for example, the overpopulation of big game species (such as the wild boar), health aspects (such as African swine fever and bird flu) or even the perception of hunting among the public.