Foreign relations of Belgium sanctioned the creation of Belgium in 1831 on the condition that the country remain strictly neutral. This policy of neutrality ended after the experience of German occupation during World War I. In the years preceding World War II, Belgium tried to return to a policy of neutrality, but once again, Germany invaded the country. In 1948, Belgium signed the Treaty of Brussels with the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg, and one year later became one of the founding members of the Atlantic Alliance. The Belgians have been strong advocates of European integration, and most aspects of their foreign,
History of Belgium empire in the Belgian Congo, which the government took over after a major scandal in 1908. Belgium was neutral but its strategic location as a pathway to France made it an invasion target for Germany in 1914 and 1940. Conditions under the occupation were severe. In the postwar period Belgium was a leader in European unification, as a founding member of what has become the European Union. Brussels is now host to the headquarters of NATO and is the "de facto" capital of the European Union. The colonies became independent in the early 1960s. Politically the country was once polarized