ABSTRACT
The Benelux countries and Austria are EU insiders. Also, they are geographically close to France and Germany, the continental pole powers (constituting the so-called ‘Axis’ in the EU). By implication, their geopolitical relationship to the pole powers is assumed to be more important than that of states in more distant groupings analysed in this book. The present chapter will establish whether this assumption is borne out by evidence. In addition, the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg do enjoy a certain prestige as founding members of the European Communities (EC) and also by virtue of the responsibility following from that position. In spite of its non-aligned (or neutral) status and its late entry into the European Union, Austria is also analysed here, among non-pole powers neighbouring the pole powers (see Figure 4.1). Were it not for the Cold War and its restrictions on Austrian freedom of manoeuvre, Austria would probably have been among the EC founders. Beyond that, Austria shares with the Benelux countries a high degree of enthusiasm for the community method and, like these countries, is forced to define its relationship with the nearby (German) pole power, to which it is closely affiliated linguistically, culturally and economically. Notwithstanding the similarities of the selected countries, however, it would appear that even among the Benelux countries divergent behavioural patterns have sometimes come to the surface, reflecting different traditions, domestic structures and geopolitical orientations.
