| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
The Benelux Economic Union (Benelux Economische Unie/Union Économique Benelux) was signed in 1944 and came into force in 1958 to promote the free movement of workers, capital, services, and goods in the region. Its founding contributed to the founding of the European Union (EU), though the immediate precusors to the EU were founded earlier (the ECSC in 1951 and the EEC in 1957). The three countries were also founding members of these organisations, together with West GermanyWest Germany was the informal but almost universally used name for the Federal Republic of Germany from 1949 until 1990, during which years the Federal Republic did not yet include the eastern part of Germany. Since the German reunification of 1990, the F, FranceThe French Republic or France ( French: Republique francaise or France is a country whose metropolitan territory is located in western Europe, and which is further made up of a collection of overseas islands and territories located in other continents., and ItalyThe Italian Republic or Italy ( Italian: Italia is a country in the south of Europe, consisting mainly of a boot-shaped peninsula together with two large islands in the Mediterranean Sea: Sicily and Sardinia. To the north, where it borders France, Switzer.