ABSTRACT
The Benelux counterproposal to the British and the French was both the first effective manifestation of post-war Benelux solidarity and the first attempt at a distinctively European regional collective security arrangement. As the Benelux nations were clearly minor partners within the greater war-time alliance, it was, naturally, the plans of the major powers, especially the United States and the United Kingdom, which would dominate post-war planning. Equally important for the ultimate question of a more narrowly defined Benelux military cooperation, a Military Cooperation Accord was signed between Belgium and the Netherlands on 10 May 1948, well before the ultimate establishment of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). The reactions of the three Benelux countries to the Plevan Plan were quite different and were influenced by their perceptions of the role of France in Europe, their attitudes toward Germany, and the public views expressed by the non-continental members of the new NATO alliance.
