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Benelux (French: Bénélux) is a union of states comprising three neighbouring countries in midwestern Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg. The union's name is a portmanteau formed from joining the first two or three letters of each country's name – Belgium Netherlands Luxembourg – and was first used to name the customs agreement that initiated the union (signed in 1944).[3] It is now used in a more general way to refer to the geographic, economic and cultural grouping of the three countries. In 1951, these countries joined West Germany, France, and Italy to form the European Coal and Steel Community, the predecessor of the European Economic Community (EEC) and today's European Union (EU). The main institutions of the Union are the Committee of Ministers, the Parliament, the Council of the Union, the Court of Justice, the Secretariat-General, the Organization for Intellectual Property. The Benelux Secretary-General is located in Brussels. It is the central administrative pillar of the Benelux Economic Union. It handles the secretariat of the Committee of Ministers, the Council of Economic Union and the various committees and working parties. Moreover, it ensures the registry of the Benelux Court of Justice.
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