Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union The Belgium–Luxembourg Economic Union (, , ), abbreviated to BLEU or UEBL, is an economic union between Belgium and Luxembourg, two countries in the Benelux Union. BLEU was created by a treaty, signed on 25 July 1921, despite a referendum against such a proposal, between Belgium and Luxembourg, 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 and Luxembourg franc were set at a fixed parity (though revised in 1935 and 1944) establishing a monetary
History of the Netherlands (1900–present) social change in matters like women's rights, sexuality and environmental issues. Today, the Netherlands is regarded as a very liberal country, considering its drugs policy and its legalisation of euthanasia. Same-sex marriage became permitted on April 1, 2001. At that time, the Netherlands was the only country where gay marriages were not only allowed, but also considered fully equivalent to heterosexual ones. In 1952, the Netherlands was among the founders of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) (together with France, West Germany, Italy, Belgium and Luxembourg). The ECSC would over time evolve into the European Union. A modern, industrialised