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
Belgium–Netherlands border Belgium–Netherlands border The Belgium–Netherlands border separates Belgium and the Netherlands and is 450 km long. Belgium and the Netherlands are part of the Schengen Area. This means there are no permanent border controls at this border. On the Belgian side, the border is shared by four Flemish provinces (out of the five in the Flemish Region). From west West Flanders, East Flanders, Antwerp and Limburg (Belgium). A small part is shared by the Walloon province of Liège, which also includes the German-speaking East Cantons. At the Dutch side, the border is shared by three provinces: Zeeland, North Brabant and Limburg.