As Europe leans toward reinstating border checks, the Benelux Union celebrates 65 years of free movement between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg at the Place d’Armes in Luxembourg City as a reminder of its enduring importance.
Luxembourg’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, Xavier Bettel, attended the event in his role as President of the Benelux Committee of Ministers, alongside Benelux Secretary-General Frans Weekers.
25 years before the Schengen Agreement, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg had already abolished border controls between them, taking on a pioneering role for the treaty that was later signed in 1985.
However, Bettel lamented in an interview with RTL, that the important principles set by the Schengen Treaty have repeatedly been called into question in recent years.
“During Covid, it was said that closing borders would help. It didn’t help. And now, with migration, some claim that closing borders is the solution. What we need are functioning external borders. Then our internal borders remain secure. But today, far-right parties across Europe are creating the impression that borders are the answer”, Bettel warned.
He added that while freedoms take a long time to win, they can be lost very quickly, and once lost, they are extremely difficult to regain. Frans Weekers, Secretary-General of Benelux, echoed Bettel’s warning in his own remarks on the Place d’Armes.
"We are not returning to the border controls of the past. Let us be smarter and more efficient. Let us show that cooperation is stronger than divisiveness."
Instead of setting up border controls again, a stronger stance towards illegal migration and cross-border criminality can set a better precedent for intelligent cooperation.
"With, for example, joint mobile patrols. Guided by information sharing, we can intervene in a targeted manner wherever necessary."
Two years ago, the Benelux countries signed a treaty on cross border police cooperation, killing two birds with one stone, according to Dutch politician Frans Weekers, protecting our freedoms while fighting against crime.
Watch the full report in Luxembourgish
Press release
65 years of free movement of people between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg celebrated today in Luxembourg (5/09/2025)
Press release by: Ministry of Foreign and EuropeanAffairs, Defence, Development Cooperation and Foreign Trade
Today, the Benelux celebrates a historic milestone: 65 years of free movement of people between Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. During the annual Benelux Day, held at Place d’Armes in the heart of Luxembourg City, citizens, policymakers, and representatives of Benelux institutions gather to commemorate this progressive achievement.
In addition to speeches and meetings between citizens and politicians, the public was able to sample Belgian, Luxembourgish and Dutch culinary specialities while listening to music performed by Douane's Musek, in collaboration with the Belgian Royal Finance Band.
In his speech, Xavier Bettel, President of the Benelux Committee of Ministers, Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs and Foreign Trade highlights the importance of the Benelux for the three countries, its citizens, and its institutions. He states:
“From idea to reality, and then to promise, the Benelux has, since its inception, shaped the lives of our citizens, our institutions, and our three countries. Today, it remains a laboratory for innovation and development for our three countries"
A pioneer of a borderless Europe
Free movement is one of the most tangible achievements of the Benelux, and it has inspired the whole of Europe. Long before the Schengen Agreement, the Benelux paved the way for a Europe without internal borders in 1960. The free movement of people, then a bold step, has become a cornerstone of European cooperation. Today, students, entrepreneurs, cross-border workers, and police forces benefit from this pioneering work.
