Benelux
Location of Benelux in Europe
Official languages		Dutch and French, non-official: Frisian, German and Luxembourgish. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people
Membership		Belgium  Netherlands  Luxembourg
Website http://www.benelux.be/

The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe that includes three neighboring monarchies, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (België/Belgique/Belgien - Nederland - Lëtzebuerg/Luxembourg/Luxemburg), which lie in the north western European region between France and Germany. The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by Western Europe at its most general meaning means 'all the countries in the West of Europe ' A monarchy is a Form of government in which supreme power is actually or nominally lodged in an individual who is the Head of state, often for life or The Kingdom of Belgium is a Country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters as well as those The Netherlands ( Dutch:, ˈnedərlɑnt is the European part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, which consists of the Netherlands the Netherlands Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. 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. The Economist is an English-language weekly news and International affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd and edited in London ^[2] However, it is now used in a more generic way. The Benelux region has a total population of about 27,562,217 and occupies an area of approximately 74,640 km² (28,819 sq mi). Thus, the Benelux has a population density of 369/km² (956/sq mi).

History

The treaty establishing the Benelux Customs Union was signed on September 5, 1944, by the governments in exile of the three countries in London, and entered into force in 1948. Events 1590 - Alexander Farnese 's army forces Henry IV of France to raise the siege of Paris. Year 1944 ( MCMXLIV) was a Leap year starting on Saturday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A government in exile is a political group that claims to be a country's legitimate government but for various reasons is unable to exercise its legal power and instead resides in a foreign London ( ˈlʌndən is the capital and largest urban area in the United Kingdom. It ceased to exist on November 1, 1960, when it was replaced by the Benelux Economic Union after a treaty signed in The Hague on February 3, 1958. It was preceded by the (still existent) Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union, established on July 25, 1921. The Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (Belgisch-Luxemburgse Economische Unie Union économique belgo-luxembourgeoise, Belsch-Lëtzebuerger Wirtschaftsunioun abbreviated to Events 285 - Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler Year 1921 ( MCMXXI) was a Common year starting on Saturday (link will display full 1921 calendar of the Gregorian calendar

Its founding contributed to the founding of the European Union (EU), though the immediate precursors to the EU were founded later (the ECSC in 1951 and the EEC in 1957)^[3]. The European Union ( EU) is a political and economic union of twenty-seven member states, located primarily in The European Coal and Steel Community ( ECSC) was a six-nation International organisation serving to unify Western Europe during the Cold War and creating The European Community (EC is one of the Three pillars of the European Union (EU created under the Maastricht Treaty (1992 The three countries were also founding members of these organizations, together with West Germany, France, and Italy. West Germany ( Inf German: Westdeutschland or West-Deutschland) was the common English name for the Federal Republic of Germany ( This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Article 306 of the EC Treaty stipulates that The provisions of this Treaty shall not preclude the existence or completion of regional unions between Belgium and Luxembourg, or between Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, to the extent that the objectives of these regional unions are not attained by application of this Treaty.

Satellite image of the Benelux countries

Politics

A Benelux Parliament (originally referred to as Interparliamentary Consultative Council) was created in 1955. The Benelux Parliament, formally the Benelux Interparliamentary Consultative Council, is one of the institutions of the Benelux Economic Union, more commonly referred 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. A parliamentary assembly is part of many International organizations Examples include European Parliamentary Assembly (now the European Parliament

The treaty establishing the Benelux Economic Union (Benelux Economische Unie/Union Économique Benelux) was signed February 3, 1958 and came into force in 1960 to promote the free movement of workers, capital, services, and goods in the region. Events 1112 - Ramon Berenguer III of Barcelona and Douce I of Provence marry uniting the fortunes of those two states Year 1958 ( MCMLVIII) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. A service is the non-material equivalent of a good. A service provision is an economic activity that does not result in Ownership, and this is what differentiates Its secretariat-general is located in Brussels. Brussels (Bruxelles pronounced; Brussel pronounced) officially the Brussels Capital-Region, is 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 is also a large number of Benelux conventions in a wide range of subject matters. ^[4]

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. International judicial institutions can be divided into Courts arbitral Tribunals and quasi-judicial institutions

The Benelux is particularly active in the field of intellectual property. Intellectual property ( IP) is a legal field that refers to creations of the mind such as musical literary and artistic works inventions and symbols names 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. The Benelux Office for Intellectual Property (BOIP (Benelux-Bureau voor de Intellectuele Eigendom (BBIE Office Benelux de la Propriété intellectuelle is the registration office for

Geography, Demographics and Languages

Main articles: Geography of Belgium, Geography of the Netherlands, and Geography of Luxembourg

Main articles: Demographics of Belgium, Demographics of the Netherlands, and Demographics of Luxembourg

Main articles: Languages of the Netherlands, Languages of Belgium, and Languages of Luxembourg

Minority languages, regional languages and dialects in the Benelux

Dutch and French are the official languages of the Benelux and its institutions. Belgium is located in Western Europe, bordering the North Sea, between France and the Netherlands. The geography of the Netherlands is unusual in that much of its land has been reclaimed from the sea and is below Sea level, protected by dikes. Luxembourg is a small country located in the Low Countries, part of North-West Europe It borders Belgium (148 Kilometres to the west and north Belgium has a population of about 10666866 citizens as of January 2008 Population density The Netherlands is the twenty-third most densely populated country in the world The following is an overview of the demographics of Luxembourg. Minority languages regional languages and dialects in the Benelux Frisian dialects Westlauwers Frisian Wood Frisian The Kingdom of Belgium has three official languages which are in order from the greatest speaker population to the smallest Dutch (in a Belgian context often The linguistic situation in Luxembourg is characterized by the practice and the recognition of three official languages French, German and Luxembourgish Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people Out of the total of 27. 2 million people living in the member states 22. 5 million (83 percent) speak Dutch and 3. 9 million (14 percent) speak French, of whom 3. 4 million are Walloons and 0. 5 million are Luxembourgians (the latter also speaking German and Luxembourgish), whereas 3% is bilingual Dutch-French (inhabitants of Brussels Capital Region, appr. Luxembourgish (lb Lëtzebuergesch Luxembourgeois Luxemburgisch Luxemburgs Lussimbordjwès also called Luxembourgian, also spelled Luxemburgish, is one of 1 million). 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. The German language (de ''Deutsch'') is a West Germanic language and one of the world's major languages. In fact, there is a small German speaking community in Belgium seated in and around the town of Eupen. Eupen is a Municipality located in the Belgian province of Liège, 15 km from the German border ( Aachen) from the Dutch (See German-speaking Community of Belgium)

Sports

In 2000, Belgium and the Netherlands jointly hosted the UEFA European Championship. The German-speaking Community of Belgium (Deutschsprachige Gemeinschaft Belgiens DGB) is one of the three federal communities in Belgium. The 2000 UEFA European Football Championship, or Euro 2000, was the 11th UEFA European Football Championship, which is held every four years and organized by In June 2007, representatives of the three countries announced they would bid, as a single political entity, for the 2018 FIFA World Cup. This article concerns the process for determining the site of the 2018 FIFA World Cup, which will be the 21st edition of the FIFA World Cup. ^[5]

Future

The treaty establishing the Benelux Economic Union will expire in 2010. It will probably be replaced by a new legal framework, taking into account the evolutions since the 1950s, both within the three member states and concerning European integration.

References

See also

• Low countries

External links

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