Benelux countries in Poland’s foreign policy

Abstract

The name Benelux is a commonly known abbreviation of the European
organisation formed by three states: the Kingdom of Belgium, the Kingdom
of the Netherlands and the Duchy of Luxemburg. The Benelux Union started
in 1944 as a tariff union, which was finalised by a treaty establishing the
Benelux Economic Union in 1958. The new Benelux Treaty was signed on
17 June 2008 in The Hague. Since then, the cooperation has been focused
on the following main areas: the internal and the economic union market,
sustainable development, justice and internal affairs. The mission of Benelux
is the best possible cooperation between the member states and ensuring the
welfare of the citizens of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxemburg.
After Poland’s accession to the European Union, Polish politicians’ interest
in the functioning of the Benelux states decreased although the present
democratic Poland’s governments use the common achievements of all its
member states. Polish governments’ foreign policy towards the Benelux states
is at present carried out within the Visegrad Group in the V4+ (plus) format.
On 19 June 2017, after 16 years’ break, the Visegrad Group and Benelux
states’ Prime Ministers met in Warsaw. The debate on the future of the
European Union was the impulse to return to talks at the prime ministers’
level. Actually, two issues divide the V4 and the Benelux states. The Benelux
Union states are for the quota solution, which the V4 states oppose. The
issue of the European integration within the ‘multi-speed idea’ constitutes
another division line. As far as this is concerned, there are differences within
the V4 but most members are against it. The Visegrad – Benelux cooperation
nowadays consists in attempting to form coalition with the Benelux states in
the EU voting in order to achieve trans-regional agreements. The experience
prescribes maintaining scepticism about predicting agreements between
the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland and the Netherlands, Belgium,
Luxemburg and Slovakia. The meeting in Warsaw proved that the debate on
the future of the European Union to a great extent would first take place in
regional groups and then formally in the EU forum.