The Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union (, , , ), 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 prod ...

between

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

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

referendum A referendum, plebiscite, or ballot measure is a Direct democracy, direct vote by the Constituency, electorate (rather than their Representative democracy, representatives) on a proposal, law, or political issue. A referendum may be either bin ...

against such a proposal, between Belgium and

, and came into effect upon ratification by the Luxembourg Chamber of Deputies on 22 December 1922. Under the terms of the treaty, the economic frontier was lifted and the

Belgian franc The Belgian franc was the currency of the Kingdom of Belgium from 1832 until 2002 when the euro was introduced. It was subdivided into 100 subunits, each known as a in Dutch, or in French and German. History The ''gulden'' (guilder) of 20 ''st ...

and

Luxembourg franc The Luxembourg franc (''F'' or ISO ''LUF'', ), subdivided into 100 centimes, was the currency of Luxembourg between 1854 and 2002, except from 1941 to 1944. From 1944 to 2002, its value was equal to that of the Belgian franc. The franc remained i ...

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 (currency symbol, symbol: euro sign, €; ISO 4217, currency code: EUR) is the official currency of 20 of the Member state of the European Union, member states of the European Union. This group of states is officially known as the ...

. 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 signed a new convention.The 100th anniversary of the constitution of the Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union (BLEU)

European Commission The European Commission (EC) is the primary Executive (government), executive arm of the European Union (EU). It operates as a cabinet government, with a number of European Commissioner, members of the Commission (directorial system, informall ...

, 22 November 2021 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 countri ...

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 union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...

, 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 States of the German Confederation, German states formed to manage tariffs and economic policies within their territories. Organized by the 1833 treaties, it formally started on 1 January 1 ...

, 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 and further reading

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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 and further reading

External links