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In the article, transformation of the foreign policy and security strategies of the Benelux countries – Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg – is analyzed against the exacerbating conflict in Ukraine. Using the comparative historical method, we outline the evolution of strategic trends of Europeanism – seeking deeper integration within the European institutional framework – and Atlanticism – pursuing a general strategic orientation towards the United States – in the three countries. As smaller-sized countries, they initially combined Europeanism and «moderate» Atlanticism, which left them some space for foreign policy maneuver. Since the 1990s, the Dutch foreign policy more closely follows the Atlanticist paradigm, while those of Belgium and Luxembourg are characterized more by Europeanism. The analysis of the EU strategic autonomy debate as a case study has shown that Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg seek the greatest possible economic benefits from the autonomy initiatives. Besides, the balance between the strategic trends remains; Belgium and Luxembourg positively view deeper EU defense cooperation, while the Netherlands mostly sees security guarantees in Euro-Atlantic cooperation. The current state in European security has thus not fundamentally changed the Benelux countries’ approaches to balancing Europeanism and Atlanticism that have been characteristic for them since the 1990s. Besides, for Belgium, support for deeper integration has become a key identity feature, while the Netherlands relies on special relations with the United States and ad hoc coalitions in the EU; Luxembourg’s foreign policy can be described to follow a free rider strategy.

Following several captures of Xylena vetusta (Hübner, 1813) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) in Wenduine (WV) in 1995, the lifestyle and distribution of this owlet moth are being investigated more in-depth. In the Benelux countries, this species is an occasional migrant. It is particularly common in the Alpine region, Scandinavia, and parts of Great Britain. The moth is mainly caught on sugar in September and October [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acontia lucida (Hufnagel, 1766) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) is a Eurasian owlet moth, also found in southern Europe. Occasionally it behaves like a rare migrant and is spotted north of the Alps. Since 2018 it has appeared in various places in the Benelux countries. In Ossenisse (Zeeland) the moth reproduced in 2022 and 2023 and it was quite common on sea-shores in July and August [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The EU is experiencing continuous development at various levels: institutional, economic, financial, labor market, justice, foreign policy etc. These dynamics within the EU are circumscribed to the process of European integration and they involve a transfer of competences and power from the nation states to the Community institutions This complex process has been equated with the "vertical" development of the Union. At the same time, there is a horizontal development of the Union, through the institutional cooperation that the states develop between them; the best example is Benelux.

Airborne pollen is a major cause of allergic rhinitis, affecting between 10 and 30% of the population in Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg (Benelux). Allergenic pollen is produced by wind pollinating plants and released in relatively low to massive amounts. Current climate changes, in combination with increasing urbanization, are likely to affect the presence of airborne allergenic pollen with respect to exposure intensity, timing as well as duration. Detailed analysis of long-term temporal trends at supranational scale may provide more comprehensive insight into these phenomena. To this end, the Spearman correlation was used to statistically compare the temporal trends in airborne pollen concentration monitored at the aerobiological stations which gathered the longest time-series (30–44 years) in the Benelux with a focus on the allergenic pollen taxa: Alnus, Corylus, Betula, Fraxinus, Quercus, Platanus, Poaceae, and Artemisia. Most arboreal species showed an overall trend toward an increase in the annual pollen integral and peak values and an overall trend toward an earlier start and end of the pollen season, which for Betula resulted in a significant decrease in season length. For the herbaceous species (Poaceae and Artemisia), the annual pollen integral and peak values showed a decreasing trend. The season timing of Poaceae showed a trend toward earlier starts and longer seasons in all locations. In all, these results show that temporal variations in pollen levels almost always follow a common trend in the Benelux, suggesting a similar force of climate change-driven factors, especially for Betula where a clear positive correlation was found between changes in temperature and pollen release over time. However, some trends were more local-specific indicating the influence of other environmental factors, e.g., the increasing urbanization in the surroundings of these monitoring locations. The dynamics in the observed trends can impact allergic patients by increasing the severity of symptoms, upsetting the habit of timing of the season, complicating diagnosis due to overlapping pollen seasons and the emergence of new symptoms due allergens that were weak at first.

After two decades free of Newcastle disease, Belgium encountered a velogenic avian orthoavulavirus type 1 epizootic in 2018. In Belgium, 20 cases were diagnosed, of which 15 occurred in hobby flocks, 2 in professional poultry flocks and 3 in poultry retailers. The disease also disseminated from Belgium towards the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg by trade. Independently, the virus was detected once in the Netherlands, almost simultaneously to the first Belgian detection. As such Newcastle disease emerged in the entire BeNeLux region. Both the polybasic sequence of the fusion gene cleavage site and the intracerebral pathotyping assay demonstrated the high pathogenicity of the strain. This paper represents the first notification of this specific VII.2 subgenotype in the North‐West of Europe. Time‐calibrated full genome phylogenetic analysis indicated the silent or unreported circulation of the virus prior to the emergence of three genetic clusters in the BeNeLux region without clear geographical or other epidemiological correlation. The Dutch strain appeared as an outgroup to the Belgian and Luxembourgian strains in the time‐correlated genetic analysis and no epidemiological link could be identified between the Belgian and Dutch outbreaks. In contrast, both genetic and epidemiological outbreak investigation data linked the G.D. Luxembourg case to the Belgian outbreak. The genetic links between Belgian viruses from retailers and hobby flocks only partially correlated with epidemiological data. Two independent introductions into the professional poultry sector were identified, although their origin could not be determined. Animal experiments using 6‐week‐ old specific pathogen‐free chickens indicated a systemic infection and efficient transmission of the virus. The implementation of re‐vaccination in the professional sector, affected hobby and retailers, as well as the restriction on assembly and increased biosecurity measures, possibly limited the epizootic and resulted in the disappearance of the virus. These findings emphasize the constant need for awareness and monitoring of notifiable viruses in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background Museums and other institutions curating natural history collections (NHCs) are fundamental entities to many scientific disciplines, as they house data and reference material for varied research projects. As such, biological specimens preserved in NHCs represent accessible physical records of the living world's history. They provide useful information regarding the presence and distribution of different taxonomic groups through space and time. Despite the importance of biological museum specimens, their potential to answer scientific questions, pertinent to the necessities of our current historical context, is often underexplored. The currently-known wild bee fauna of Luxembourg comprises 341 registered species distributed amongst 38 different genera. However, specimens stored in the archives of local NHCs represent an untapped resource to update taxonomic lists, including potentially overlooked findings relevant to the development of national conservation strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A new lichen species is described from specimens growing on Fraxinus trees north of Eindhoven (the Netherlands). Morphological and genetic studies suggest that the new species belongs in the genus Catillaria, and the name Catillaria flexuosa is proposed because of its flexuose apothecia. The new species is characterized by the relatively large apothecia (up to 0.9 mm diam.) and relatively thick, knobby to ±subsquamulose, greenish, thallus. Due to their similar morphological features, C. flexuosa can be easily confused with Catillaria chalybeia, C. fungoides or C. nigroclavata, so it is therefore compared with these species. In addition, Arthonia epiphyscia is reported being a very rare species in the Netherlands. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to have a safer perspective regarding their future, states had often used the associative system based on common interests and the respective trust coefficient. A model is the Benelux Union, the base for the European construction, while continuing its role as a promoter and a basis for experiments. In this very moment, we might consider that we have an inflation of such cooperation platforms, in various areas. It might be useful to have others as well. It is clear that their meaning comes from their capacity to reach the mentioned purposes, a fact which is not quite easy to attend. We shall analyze few of the existing platforms and insist on the Three Seas Initiative, as being the most important regional cooperation platform where our country it is involved. Which are the common interests and which is the degree of trust among the member states? These are two of the questions for which we are looking to get correct answers, thus the Initiative should become more viable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Almost all international organisations have a parliamentary assembly. Generally, these parliaments lack legislative powers. This article aims to explain the spread of these powerless parliaments by an in-depth study of the emergence of the Benelux Interparliamentary Consultative Council; this was one of the first international parliaments and therefore it avoids isomorphic explanations. Archival evidence is used to study motivations and preferences of governments and MPs and how these were translated in the creation of the Benelux Parliament. The evidence suggests that MPs successfully pressured the rather reluctant governments to create a parliamentary organ. MPs demanded a parliament because they regarded the intergovernmental cooperation as a degradation of parliamentary democracy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In battling organized crime and terrorism, the sharing of intelligence is of crucial importance. This is especially true in Europe, where suspects can easily travel between the different 'Schengen' jurisdictions, which allows free movement of persons. It is crucial for EU member states to pool resources and share intelligence if they want to gain the upper hand in crime-fighting and counter-terrorism operations. Due to the highly sensitive nature of intelligence and the fact that being secretive is a tool of the trade, sharing does not come naturally to policing and intelligence agencies, especially not with foreign partners. However, there is a need to re-envision the relationships of these agencies with their foreign counterparts vis-à-vis intelligence sharing. This article will shed light on how cross-border intelligence sharing is currently undertaken by focusing on international police cooperation in the EU. By identifying the practices that have shaped the 2018 Benelux police cooperation treaty, this article will demonstrate how the EU can strengthen its intelligence-sharing mechanisms. In doing so, it aims to highlight the obstacles to overcome in order to level the playing field between criminals and terrorists on the one hand and policing and intelligence agencies on the other. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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This article addresses the territoriality o f trade marks in infringement procedures. One o f the questions that is answered is whether an infringement prohibition or injunction is valid for the entire territory o f the European Union, or if is it possible to restrict it in terms o f the territory. This article aims to provide an answer to these questions, in particular based on the case law developed by the Court o f Justice (DHL v Chronopost, Combit v Commit, Kerrygold v Kerrymaid, PAGO and Iron & Smith v Unilever). The article also deals with some corresponding Benelux issues [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although most scholars acknowledge that the media play an instrumental role in furthering or limiting the spread of populism, the exact nature of the relationship between right-wing populist parties (RWPPs) and the media remains poorly understood. This article analyzes the various ways in which the media choose to deal with RWPPs in the Benelux region (i.e., Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg). Using evidence from interviews with media practitioners (n = 46), the findings suggest that in the absence of a credible right-wing populist challenger, media practitioners in Luxembourg and Wallonia adhere to strict demarcation, whereas the Dutch and Flemish media have become gradually more accommodative to RWPPs. This study makes two contributions to the field. First, it systematically theorizes the different ways in which the media can approach the populist radical right. Second, it provides illustrative, comparative evidence about the rationale for why some media provide space for RWPPs while others deny it, thereby illuminating the under-researched topic of societal responses to the populist radical right. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]