BENELUX

   An abbreviation for BElgium, the NEtherlands, and LUXembourg. The term Benelux indicates the economicand political cooper ation between the three countries that began during the last year of World War II, when a treaty was signed in which tariffs were made uniform. In 1948, an economic union was concluded, known as the Bel gisch-Luxemburgse Economische Unie (BLEU, Belgium-Luxembourg Economic Union). Ten years later, all three countries adopted a new union treaty in which a common committee of ministers was created, as well as an interparliamentary council, a board of arbitration, and a coun cil of advisors on economic and social policy. To a large extent, unifi cation within the framework of Benelux has been superseded by the wider developments in the European Union (EU).