History of the Netherlands The post-war years saw rapid economic recovery (helped by the American Marshall Plan), followed by the introduction of a welfare state during an era of peace and prosperity. The Netherlands formed a new economic alliance with Belgium and Luxembourg, the Benelux, and all three became founding members of the European Union and NATO. In recent decades, the Dutch economy has been closely linked to that of Germany, and is highly prosperous. The four countries adopted the Euro on 1 January 2002, along with eight other EU member states. The prehistory of the area that is now the Netherlands was largely
Luxembourg wine of produce were now consumed domestically, while the rest was exported, mostly to Belgium. The Moselle area was the only region of the country which had opted for Belgium over France as an economic partner in the referendum of 1919. During 1983-1987, 57% of produce was exported, four-fifths of this to Belgium. All official wine designations in Luxembourg are French language terms. One single appellation is used for all of Luxembourg: "Moselle Luxembourgeoise". This designation, usually referred to as the "Marque Nationale" (national seal), indicates that the wine is made entirely from Luxembourgian grapes and fulfills certain requirements. The "Marque