Benelux

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. 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).

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 is 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.

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 has been 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.

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

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