Benelux Country

Now if I remember my 'Understanding Europe' module at College, well enough, some of the 'leading lights' of the EU started by proposing a customs union of the Benelux countries. This, formed the basis for the European Iron & Steel Community, which became one of the founding pillars of the Common Market.

With all the destruction that occured in WW1, could such a proposal have happened after WW1 rather than wait till after WW2? If that did occur, it is more likely that the trading co-operation would developed into a closer relationship - after all I believe the ethnic percentage ratio in the Benelux is similar to that of Switzerland.
Therefore if you have a region, that over a decade (from early 1920s) is co-operating together, and growing ever closer politically as a result. Union, becomes plausible; therefore how does the Benelux react to impending war, is it more able to defend itself, or is it more vulnerable because of trying to defend the 'country' too close to the old Dutch/German border!? But at least the Ardenne should be better defended!

Who knows more about Dutch/Belgium relations of the twenties & thirties?
 

HJ Tulp

Donor
Now if I remember my 'Understanding Europe' module at College, well enough, some of the 'leading lights' of the EU started by proposing a customs union of the Benelux countries. This, formed the basis for the European Iron & Steel Community, which became one of the founding pillars of the Common Market.

With all the destruction that occured in WW1, could such a proposal have happened after WW1 rather than wait till after WW2? If that did occur, it is more likely that the trading co-operation would developed into a closer relationship - after all I believe the ethnic percentage ratio in the Benelux is similar to that of Switzerland.
Therefore if you have a region, that over a decade (from early 1920s) is co-operating together, and growing ever closer politically as a result. Union, becomes plausible; therefore how does the Benelux react to impending war, is it more able to defend itself, or is it more vulnerable because of trying to defend the 'country' too close to the old Dutch/German border!? But at least the Ardenne should be better defended!

Who knows more about Dutch/Belgium relations of the twenties & thirties?

Actually, Belgo-Dutch relations were very bad after the First World War. To punish the Netherlands for their neutrality the Belgians wanted to annex large parts of the Netherlands.
 

yourworstnightmare

Banned
Donor
And there was that Flemish questions, with the Dutch giving passive support to the Flemish, which made the Wallonians pissed, and it was the Wallonians who were in charge of Belgium.
 
Actually, Belgo-Dutch relations were very bad after the First World War. To punish the Netherlands for their neutrality the Belgians wanted to annex large parts of the Netherlands.

True. I think that the best option to get a Benelux before WWII is to get the netherlands involved in World War I. If Germany decides to go through the Netherlands as well as through Belgium and occupies (most of) it, both countries could grow towards each other after the war having shared the same experience. Maybe form an alliance, while still trying to remain neutral, form a monatairy union, etc.
 
True. I think that the best option to get a Benelux before WWII is to get the netherlands involved in World War I. If Germany decides to go through the Netherlands as well as through Belgium and occupies (most of) it, both countries could grow towards each other after the war having shared the same experience. Maybe form an alliance, while still trying to remain neutral, form a monatairy union, etc.

Or the other way around; have Belgium get hit even harder then IRL.

If Belgium's not a feasible state anymore for some reason and for some reason France wouldn't want a piece, Belgium could end up dissolved into a bigger Netherlands.

The above what Pompejus described is what happened pretty much after WWII; Belgium and the Netherlands more or less hit just as bad by war and no merger.
 
Or the other way around; have Belgium get hit even harder then IRL.

If Belgium's not a feasible state anymore for some reason and for some reason France wouldn't want a piece, Belgium could end up dissolved into a bigger Netherlands.

The above what Pompejus described is what happened pretty much after WWII; Belgium and the Netherlands more or less hit just as bad by war and no merger.
An important reason for that is the EU (or EEC or ECCS or whatever its name was). Because the cooperation between the Benelux countries and Germany, France and Italy (and later the other countries), the Benelux was less important.

I can´t see Belgium joining the Netherlands if it was completely ruined. The Walloon population don´t want to join, they rather join France, who would probably accept them and if they don´t the Netherlands wouldn´t want them for the same reason. I can see a split of Belgium where Walonia joins France and Flanders the Netherlands (in those days at least, not anymore in these days).
 
If my Latin is any good (which it's not), then the name literally means "Bright Day", which, yes, would be a good name for the next Electrolux ("Electric Light"?) line of vacuums.
BENELUX simply stands for BElgie, NEtherlands and LUXembourg,
have you not figured that out? It is an acronym. Furthermore it was
not the iron and steelunion it was the steel and coal union.
 
BENELUX simply stands for BElgie, NEtherlands and LUXembourg,
have you not figured that out? It is an acronym. Furthermore it was
not the iron and steelunion it was the steel and coal union.
I know that... I was just being silly! :p

And yes, it was indeed the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), forerunner of the EEC/EC/EU. :)
 
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