Belsch-Lëtzebuergesch Wirtschaftsdelegatioun, 25

The Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union ( nl, Belgisch-Luxemburgse Economische Unie, french: Union économique belgo-luxembourgeoise, german: Belgisch-Luxemburgische Wirtschaftsunion, lb, Belsch-Lëtzebuerger Wirtschaftsunioun), abbreviated to BLEU or UEBL, is an

economic union An economic union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a common market with a customs union. The participant countries have both common policies on product regulation, freedom of movement of goods, services and the factors of produc ...

between

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...

, two countries in the Benelux Union. BLEU was created by a treaty, signed on 25 July 1921, despite a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

against such a proposal, between Belgium and

, and came into effect upon ratification by the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies on 22 December 1922.Kreins (2003), pp.92–3 Under the terms of the treaty, the economic frontier was lifted and the Belgian franc and Luxembourg franc were set at a fixed parity (though revised in 1935 and 1944) establishing a

fixed exchange rate system A fixed exchange rate, often called a pegged exchange rate, is a type of exchange rate regime in which a currency's value is fixed or pegged by a monetary authority against the value of another currency, a basket of other currencies, or another ...

, which existed until the introduction of the

euro The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...

. The original treaty lasted for fifty years, expiring in 1972; this was extended for ten years in 1982 and again in 1992. On 18 December 2002, the two countries and the three regions of Belgium signed a new convention. It has been seen as the forerunner of the Benelux Union, which was established as the Benelux Customs Union in 1944 by the

London Customs Convention Officially titled the ''Netherlands–Belgium–Luxembourg Customs Convention'', the London Customs Convention was the treaty that established the Benelux Customs Union on 5 September 1944. The word "Benelux" comes from an acronym of the countrie ...

and also includes the Netherlands. While many aims of the BLEU have been subsumed by the Benelux Union, and later the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

, it still has some relevance in being able to decide more precise measures than these organisations. International trade statistics were available for BLEU only as a combined entity until 1999 when European Community rules required split information.

History

Compared with the

Zollverein The (), or German Customs Union, was a coalition of German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1834. However, its foundations had b ...

, the UEBL had several advantages for Luxembourg. Belgium was only allowed to alter its customs tariffs or conclude trade treaties after consultation with the Luxembourgish government, whereas before 1918 Luxembourg had to go along with German decisions. Similarly, only Luxembourgish customs agents would operate in Luxembourg, while under the Zollverein Prussian officials had operated in Luxembourg. The functioning of the UEBL was entrusted to a Board of Directors consisting of two Belgian members (including the chairman) and one Luxembourgish member, and the Higher Council of the Union (with three Belgian and two Luxembourgish members).

Footnotes

References

External links

Official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union Benelux Currency unions Economy of Luxembourg Economy of Belgium 1922 establishments in Belgium Belgium–Luxembourg relations 1922 establishments in Luxembourg Treaties entered into force in 1922 Treaties of Belgium Treaties of Luxembourg Treaties concluded in 2002 Customs treaties Treaties concluded in 1921 European integration

History

See also

Footnotes

References

External links