ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the other twelve member-states which are clustered in three groups of countries: the Benelux states; the Mediterranean countries; and the fringe states. The three Benelux countries, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg, form together with the Franco-German alliance the core of countries that have always been in the forefront of European integration. During The Hague summit of 1969, the Benelux governments endorsed the French suggestion to start political consultations on foreign policy matters outside the EC's institutional framework. Unlike Spain, Portugal had a more reserved attitude with respect to the priority given in the TEU to the West European Union (WEU) over the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) as the future military arm of the Union, but in spite of these reservations Portugal took up the mainstream attitude among the member-states and accepted the compromise that has been reached.
