History of the Netherlands The Dutch government subsequently decided on a large-scale programme of public works (the "Delta Works") to protect the country against future floods. The project took more than thirty years to complete. The Oosterscheldedam, an advanced sea storm barrier, became operational in 1986. According to Dutch government engineers, the odds of a major inundation anywhere in the Netherlands are now one in 10,000 years. The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), was founded in 1951 by the six founding members: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg (the Benelux countries) and West Germany, France and Italy. Its purpose was to pool the steel
Belgium–Netherlands border Between Belgian and Dutch Limburg, the border is mostly formed by the Meuse (Maas) river. The other parts of the border is mostly on land. The city of Baarle-Hertog forms a Belgian exclave in the Netherlands. The border is complicated there, with Dutch exclaves inside it. The eastern end point is the tripoint (together with Germany) at Vaalserberg. During the First World War, an electric fence was installed along the border by the German military, called the Wire of Death. Two border changes have occurred in recent history with regard to the Belgium–Netherlands border. Belgium–Netherlands border The Belgium–Netherlands border separates