MODULE 0: Overview
1. Introduction
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JHA (‘Justice and Home Affairs Council’)1 = De Raad ontwikkelt samenwerking en gemeenschappelijk beleid inzake
diverse grensoverschrijdende vraagstukken, met als doel een ruimte van vrijheid, veiligheid en rechtvaardigheid tot stand te
brengen in heel de EU.
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De Raad van Justitie en Binnenlandse Zaken
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, MODULE 1: BENELUX
1. Introduction
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OVERVIEW
● Origin and development
● Institutional
Tijdlijn
De belangrijkste elementen
Woorden Schematisch
1. The origins of the Benelux partnership date back to the final phase of
the Second World War and predominantly focussed on economie
matters.
2. Soon after that they realised we needed a number of flanking
measures to look into police and judicial cooperation and fraud (!)
3. Today the BENELUX is seen to be the testing ground for cooperation
in the EU (small group which experiments with new ways of
cooperation and possibilities to improve and intensify cooperation, if it
works we might try to convince other countries to cooperate as well at
EU level)
4. Today it’s the Belgian presidency => Consequence: more media info
about Benelux this year in our media.
5. They have a work programme set out for 4 years.
6. Tweets
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, 1. Origin and development
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Monetary Union
● When: 1943 → Final phase of the WOII
● Members: BE, NE, LUX
● Aim: economic matters
Reinforcing economic relations
Facilitating monetary transactions among them.
● How
A fixed exchange rate between the different ‘types of money’ (vb. BE: Belgische Frank, LUX: Gulden)
Gave each other state loans to each other for financial help.
Customs Union
● When: 1944
● Members: BE, NE, LUX
● Aim:
○ Opening their internal borders
○ Establishing free movement of goods, services, capital and persons.
● How
○ The abolishment of intra-Benelux custom duties
○ The establishment of a common import tariff for third countries.
● Remark:
○ Problem: if you start having economic developments and if people and goods can cross easier across
borders, cross-border crime comes in
○ Solution: we need flanking measures (= measures to back up what is already there: something that will
allow police and judicial authorities to follow or cooperate)
The Benelux Treaty
● When: 1958
○ This Treaty was limited for a period of 50 years
● Members: BE, NE, LUX → Joseph Bech, Willem Drees en Achiel van Acker signed the treaty
● Aim: Establishment of the Benelux Economic Union (BEU)
○ → Its own institutions, own policy and own institutional framework
● Focus: cooperation
● Remark: Flanking measures
○ It soon became clear that the cooperation between these three countries would go further than economic
matters:
■ Treaty on extradition and judicial cooperation (1962)
● ‘Benelux Extradition Treaty’
● Aims:
○ The treaty introduced two types of extradition:
■ Prosecutorial extradition: Aiming for the transfer of a person with a
view to prosecution (vervolging) in a different country
■ Executorial extradition: aiming for the transfer of a person with a
view to executing a sentence (tenuitvoerlegging van een straf) that
was imposed in another member state.
○ Judicial cooperation → mutual legal assistance (wederzijdse rechtshulp)
■ Treaty on execution (1968)
● = it has to do with executions (uitvoering) of sentence
■ Benelux Administrative and Criminal Cooperation Treaty (1969)
● “BACC-treaty”
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,Senningen Memorandum
● When: 1996
● = A consultation held in Senningen (city in Luxembourg)
● Result: Senningen Memorandum
○ “Memorandum of understanding”
○ Inhoud: The domains on which they decided to work
■ First: Police cooperation, Migration, Justice
● Police cooperation
○ Legal basis
■ Treaty 2004 cross-border police actions
■ New Treaty 2021
○ Cooperation at benelux level: Horizontal cooperation
○ Types of cooperation
■ Equipement (uitrusting)
● = The 3 MS have common police equipment that they
lend to each other
● Reasons: Financial + operational reasons
○ Financial: It's a better deal to buy it together
instead of all separately
○ Operational: They work with the same
materials
■ Training & education
● Joint actions, practices and training courses are
organized
■ Field Cooperation
● Join forces on events
○ vb. Luxembourg's police helped the police
officers from Ghent during de Gentse feesten
■ Access to data bases
■ Liaison officers
● = Officers who need to gather information on certain
phenomena of criminality
● Migration
○ Re-admission treaties
■ ‘Hertoelatingsverdragen’
○ Visa Waivor Agreements
■ The most citizens or nationals of the MS can travel to the MS to
travel to the MS for stays of 90 days or less without obtaining a
visa
● Justice
○ Support during investigations
○ Execution of each others decisions
■ Later: extended to security, drugs, natural disasters
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,New Benelux Treaty
● When: 2008
● Members: BE, NE, LUX
● Context: The Benelux Treaty was limited for a period of 50 years
○ After those 50 years: Discussion
■ Question: Is the Benelux useful, Has the Benelux a Future Reason d’être?
■ Answer: YES → see the aims
○ After those 50 years (2008) the countries sat together and decided to sign a new Benelux treaty, with no
expiration date.
● Aims: Double goal
○ Deepen forms of cross-border cooperation
○ Testing-grounds for the EU
● Interaction
○ Benelux IS INFLUENCED BY Council of Europe
■ Predominantly some instruments already existed at Council of Europe level → ‘The mother
Treaty’
● BUT: they are most often not the most farreaching one.
● Solution: Some smaller groups of countries (like Benelux) will then takes those
initiatives to improve it. → The experimental treaty
■ Important note: Sometimes text provisions (tekstbepalingen) are copy pasted from Benelux to
EU or the other way around, what is the use of that?
● Entry into force:
○ If a treaty is concluded at council of Europe level (mother treaty), it takes
years until everyone has ratified it and to enter into force.
○ So often the Benelux takes over the text, so they (Benelux) all ratify it way
faster and it enters also faster into force.
○ Afterwards, when the Mother treaty eventually enters into force, the
instrument at Benelux level (experimental treaty) ceases to exist or is
absorbed at Council of Europe level.
● Content
○ Benelux INFLUENCED SChengen & European Union (EU)
■ Benelux is the testing-ground
■ → Often within the smaller group of countries, an experiment is tried and tested and if it works
then we can convince other EU countries to join (or to integrated in the EU).
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, 2. Institutional
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Interparliamentary Assemblee Committee of Ministers
“Benelux Parliament”
Composition 46 members of the national parliaments of the MS At least one deputy of each MS
● 21 BE ● Normally: Ministers of Foreign affairs
● 21 NE ● But: Another minister is possible → ad hoc appointed minister
● 7 LUX
⇒ The members are elected by the country
Central Advise Decision
Tasks and ⇒ An advisory function ⇒ Decision making
responsibilities ● = The Parliament advises and formulates opinions directed at the national ● = To take measures to ensure the implementation of the Benelux treaty and to
governments accomplish the aims
⇒ An informative, supporting and stimulating function ○ Unanimity
● NO decision making power !! ○ Examples of tasks:
● = Information flow between the 3 MS: ■ To approve the budget
○ In the Benelux Parliament the 3 MS informs each other about the ■ To take binding decisions on the implementation of the
discussions taken in the national Parliamentary meetings. treaty
○ ex. If you have upcoming elections and there is a new political ■ To adopt an annual work plan
party, you should discuss this in the Benelux parliament
⇒ External relations:
→ The Parliament cooperates internationally with:
● Supra-regional and supranational organizations
○ ex. The Nordic Council, the Baltic Assembly, ...
● Countries who wish to use the Benelux model as inspiration for setting up
similar cooperation structures in other parts of the world.
Functioning ⇒ Meeting: ⇒ Presidency (voorzitterschap)
● When: 3 ‘two day’ sessions a year ● Rotating system between the 3 countries
● Where: Rotating system → In the capital of the MS ● Every 1 year
⇒ Supportive organs:
● Parliamentary commissions
○ Task: Preparation of the parliamentary documents ⇒ Meetings: one day, once a year
○ How much: 7 ● = Day of the presidency
○ Examples: commission foreign affairs, commission for justice and ● BUT: In case of an emergency the government of one of the member states can
public safety, commission for cross-border cooperation, … request a meeting
● Permanent Committee ● Location: No fixed location → rotating system
○ The leading body within Parliament
○ Members: 16 ⇒ Supportive organs (preparation)
○ Task: daily organization of the parliamentary work ● Standing committee
● Some Thematic work groups 4
Secretariat-General Benelux Court of Justice
Composition 60 permanent international officials 9 members selected from:
→ Managed by a board2 of Secretariat-General ● The judges of the Belgian Cassation Court
● Members of the board are appointed by the Committee of ministers every 5 ● The judges of the Dutch Supreme Court
years ● The judges of the Luxembourg Supreme Court.
Central Support Judicial
Tasks and ⇒ Daily management ⇒ Explain and secure correct application of Benelux-rules
responsibilities = Coordinates the administrative tasks that follow from the activities from… ≠ The court where citizen go to for a trial
● The commission ● SO: You can not bring a person to Luxembourg Court
● The ministerial workinggroups = The court where the states can go for advise
● The council ● 3 chambers within the Court that deal with:
1. Prejudicial questions and advisory matters
⇒ Organization of consultation 2. Jurisprudence
● Coordinates the design of the Common Work Plan and draws up an annual plan 3. Staff matters
for the Benelux Union ● Examples:
● Darws up the draft budget of all the Benelux institutions and submits it to the ○ vb. If there is a discussion between states of the use of an instrument
Committee of Ministers ○ vb. Extradition treaty
■ It includes a number of conditions
■ Problem: one country read the condition other than the
other country = discussion
■ Solution: Benelux Court
Functioning ⇒ Location: Brussels in the so called ‘House of the Benelux’
⇒ 3 teams:
● Market
● Sustainable development
● Justice and Home Affaires
○ Senningen-consulation
○ Drug traffic
○ Immigration and visa issues
○ Fighting fiscal fraude
○ Euro Controle Route
⇒ Supportive organs (to facilitate the work)
→ Support services:
● The Staff bureau
● The Service corporate organization
● The language service
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Raad
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