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Benelux
Flag
Location of Benelux in Europe
Official languages		Dutch and French, non-official: Frisian, German and Luxembourgish.
Membership		Belgium  Netherlands  Luxembourg
Website http://www.benelux.be

The Benelux is a union in Western Europe that comprises three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (België/Belgique/Belgien - Les Pays Bas/Nederland/Die Niederlande - Lëtzebuerg/Luxembourg/Luxemburg), which lie in the north western European region between France and Germany. The name is formed from the beginning of each country's name; it was possibly created for the Benelux Customs Union,^[1] although according to The Economist it was coined somewhat earlier, in August 1946, by that newspaper's correspondent in Belgium.^[2] However, it is now used in a more generic way to refer to the cultural, economic, and geographic grouping.

In 1951, these countries joined West Germany, France, and Italy to form the European Coal and Steel Community, the earliest version of the modern European Union.

Politics

A Benelux Parliament (originally referred to as Interparliamentary Consultative Council) was created in 1955. This parliamentary assembly is composed of 21 members of the Dutch parliament, 21 members of the Belgian national and regional parliaments, and 7 members of the Luxembourgish parliament.

In 1944, the three countries signed the London Customs Convention, the treaty that established the Benelux Customs Union. Ratified in 1947, the treaty was in force from 1948 until being supplanted by the Benelux Economic Union. The treaty establishing the Benelux Economic Union (Benelux Economische Unie/Union Économique Benelux) was signed on February 3, 1958 and came into force in 1960 to promote the free movement of workers, capital, services, and goods in the region. Its secretariat-general is located in Brussels. The unification of the law of the three Benelux countries is mainly achieved by regulations of its Council of Ministers, that only bind the three states, but are not directly applicable in their internal legal orders. There are also a large number of Benelux conventions in a wide range of subject matters.^[3]

Law

In 1965, the treaty establishing a Benelux Court of Justice was signed. It entered into force in 1975. The Court, composed of judges from the highest courts of the three States, has to guarantee the uniform interpretation of common legal rules. This international judicial institution is located in Brussels.

The Benelux is particularly active in the field of intellectual property. The three countries established a Benelux Trademarks Office and a Benelux Designs Office, both situated in The Hague. In 2005, they concluded a treaty establishing a Benelux Organisation for Intellectual Property which replaced both offices upon its entry into force on September 1, 2006.

Geography, demographics and languages

Minority languages, regional languages and dialects in the Benelux. Pink are Langues d'oïl (French), yellowish and orange are Low Franconian (Dutch), green are Low Saxon, blue are Frisian, and maroon are Central German dialects. Dutch and French are the official languages of the Benelux and its institutions.

Out of the total of about 27.7 million people living in the member states, 22.61 million (82%) live in the Netherlands or the Flemish Region, where Dutch is the sole official language (though Frisian is an official language in Friesland). The officially French-speaking Walloon Region has 3.5 million inhabitants (12.5%), while a majority of the Brussels-Capital Region (3.8%) —although officially bilingual French-Dutch— is also Francophone. Luxembourg (1.74%) is officially trilingual with Luxembourgish as a "national language", the latter being a standardised High German dialect. Combined with the German-speaking Community of Belgium, this adds up to an estimated 2% of native German-speakers.

Although it is not an official language of the Benelux and its institutions, Belgium and Luxembourg recognise German as one of the official national languages. In Friesland, in the north of the Netherlands, Frisian is co-official with Dutch.

The Benelux region has a total population of about 27,725,734 and occupies an area of approximately 74,640 square kilometres (28,820 sq mi). Thus, the Benelux has a population density of 371/km² (958/sq mi).

Sports

In 2000, Belgium and the Netherlands jointly hosted the UEFA European Championship. In June 2007, representatives of the three countries announced they would bid, as a single political entity, for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.^[4]

Future

The treaty establishing the Benelux Economic Union will expire in 2010. It will be replaced by a new legal framework, which was signed on June 17, 2008. The main objectives of the treaty are the continuation and enlargement of the cooperation between the three member states within a larger European context. The name of the "Benelux economic union" will change to Benelux union to reflect this broader scope.

See also

• Low Countries

References

External links

• Benelux Economic Union - Official site
• Benelux Parliament - Official site
• Benelux Court of Justice - Official site
• Benelux Office for Intellectual Property - Official site

From Wikitravel

Benelux is an economic union comprising three neighbouring monarchies, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is formed from the beginning of each country's name. It is a precursor of the European (Economic) Union and as such, borders here have been 'open' for many more years than in the rest of the EU.

The Benelux countries

• Amsterdam — traveller magnet due to its impressive architecture, lovely canals (grachten), museums and liberal attitudes
• Antwerp — a giant cathedral, medieval streets and artistic heritage
• Brussels — unofficial capital of the EU with a nice historic centre and several museums
• Bruges — one of Europe's wealthiest cities in the 14th century, it's large and beautiful historic centre remains
• Liège — largest city of Wallonia, along a wide river, industrial cityscape with hiking and resorts in the nearby hills
• Luxembourg (city) — capital of Luxembourg, its spectacular valleys and plateaus led it to be nicknamed the "Gibraltar of the North"
• Rotterdam — modern architecture, good nightlife and the largest port of Europe
• The Hague — seat of government, royal family, judicial capital of the world and Madurodam
• Utrecht — historic center, nice antique stores and the Rietveld-Schröder House

• Ardennes — the most sparsely populated in Benelux, this is a hilly countryside region covered with forests
• Binche — for three days in February, the town is transported back to the 16th century for one of the most fantastic carnival festivals
• Hoge Veluwe National Park — largest national park with heathlands, sand dunes and woodlands
• Keukenhof — millions of tourists visit these enormous flower fields each Spring
• Kinderdijk — these windmills show the typical Dutch landscape in all its glory
• Pajottenland — an area of green fields and small villages, some of which have been portrayed by artists such as Pieter Bruegel
• Schokland — old island evacuated in 1859, a well-preserved ghost village remains
• Vianden — quaint small town presided over by a rather splendid château
• Waterloo Battlefield — the Waterloo Battlefield where Napoleon lost the final battle that changed Europe's face forever

Understand

Luxembourg and the East of Belgium is a hilly area, but the rest of the area is what is known as the the Low Countries; this is the delta of the rivers Scheldt, Meuse, Rhine and Ems. Originally swamp land, enterprising fishermen discovered a flair for trade when trading routes started to emerge between the grain markets of the Baltic Sea and the renaissance-bitten luxury goods markets of northern Italy. Here is where stocks were invented.

This attention to trade made Bruges one of the largest cities in Europe in its day, and the mediaeval town is still well preserved. When the secession war with Spain progressed, French and Flemish alike fled to Amsterdam, which became the new world capital of trade, which is still witnessed in the many 'Houses of the Lords' lining the famous canals.

Talk

Dutch (or Flemish) is the main language in the Netherlands and in the north of Belgium (Flanders) and is also spoken in bilingual Brussels. French is the main language in Brussels and in the south of Belgium (Wallonia). On the east side of Belgium there are a few German speaking communities. Luxembourg has three official languages: Luxembourgish, French and German. Many, especially in the Netherlands, speak English. Frisian is spoken in Friesland (Netherlands).

See

Much of the swamp land in the Low Countries has been reclaimed, resulting in some of the largest water works in the world, and in other attractions such as the wind mills of the Kinderdijk in Zuid-Holland (South-Holland). Much has not been reclaimed, resulting in interesting biotopes, such as the 'Zwin' on the coast of Belgium and the area around the 'Waddenzee' in the North of the Netherlands.

• You will find white-water canoeing in Luxembourg and the East of Belgium.

• There are some excellent golf courses in Luxembourg and the East of Belgium.

• Rent a bike and explore Amsterdam.

• Try Moules et frites - Belgium's answer to fish and chips.
• Try speculaas, the famous Dutch cookies.
• Belgian chocolate is some of the best on the planet.
• Eat the Dutch almond fingers, rich with sugar and marzipan.

• Try the famous Belgian brewed beers!

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

English

Etymology

From the first letters of Belgium, Netherlands and Luxembourg

Proper noun

Wikipedia has an article on:

Benelux

Wikipedia

Benelux

1. an economic and customs union made up of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg; one of the precursors of the European Union