Benelux
The Benelux Union (Dutch: Benelux Unie; French: Union Benelux; Luxembourgish: Benelux-Unioun) or Benelux is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a portmanteau formed from joining the first few letters of each country's name and was first used to name the customs agreement that initiated the union (signed in 1944). It is now used more generally to refer to the geographic, economic, and cultural grouping of the three countries.
Benelux Union | |
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Logo of the Benelux
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Member states of the Benelux Union
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| Administrative centre and largest agglomeration | Brussels 50°51′N 4°21′E |
| Official languages | |
| Type | Politico-economic union |
| Member states | |
| Legislature | Parliament |
| Establishment | |
• Customs union treaty signed | 5 September 1944 |
• Customs union in effect | 1 January 1948 |
• Renewal signed | 17 June 2008 |
• Renewal in effect | 1 January 2010 |
| Area | |
• Total | 75,140 km2 (29,010 sq mi) |
| Population | |
• 2022 estimate | 29,200,564 |
• Density | 400/km2 (1,036.0/sq mi) |
| GDP (nominal) | 2021 estimate |
• Total | €1.431 trillion |
• Per capita | €47,700 |
| Currency | Euro (EUR) |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| UTC+2 (CEST) | |
| Driving side | right |
Website benelux | |
The Benelux is an economically dynamic and densely populated region, with 5.6% of the European population (29.55 million residents) and 7.9% of the joint EU GDP (€36,000/resident) on 1.7% of the whole surface of the EU. Currently 37% of the total number of EU frontier workers work in the Benelux and surrounding areas. 35,000 Belgian citizens work in Luxembourg, while 37,000 Belgian citizens cross the border to work in the Netherlands each day. In addition, 12,000 Dutch and close to a thousand Luxembourg residents work in Belgium.
The main institutions of the Union are the Committee of Ministers, the Council of the Union, the General Secretariat, the Interparliamentary Consultative Council and the Benelux Court of Justice while the Benelux Office for Intellectual Property covers the same land but is not part of the Benelux Union.
The Benelux General Secretariat is located in Brussels. It is the central platform of the Benelux Union cooperation. It handles the secretariat of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Benelux Union and the sundry committees and working parties. The General Secretariat provides day-to-day support for the Benelux cooperation on the substantive, procedural, diplomatic and logistical levels. The Secretary-General is Frans Weekers from the Netherlands and there are two deputies: Deputy Secretary-General Michel-Etienne Tilemans from Belgium and Deputy Secretary-General Jean-Claude Meyer from Luxembourg.
The presidency of the Benelux is held in turn by the three countries for a period of one year. The Netherlands holds the presidency for 2023.
About 80% of the Benelux population speaks Dutch.