Summary
Jan Wouters & Maarten Vidal
Benelux: ook forum voor externe samenwerking?
Jan Wouters & Maarten Vidal state that Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg are often perceived from the outside as a coherent bloc. In fact, Benelux is a stronger trademark abroad than within the three countries, where the organisation seems to have slipped into oblivion. The three countries could build on that strong image and realise at the same time economies of scale, if more structural cooperation between their diplomatic services would be achieved. The authors indicate a number of forms of cooperation which are already taking place between the Benelux countries or between similar groupings of nations. They include pooling of diplomatic and consular representations, especially in bilateral posts, and concerted candidatures for international bodies.