Summary record of the first meeting between the diplomatic representatives of Belgium, France, the United Kingdom, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, held on 4 March 1948 in Brussels with a view to concluding the treaty establishing Western Union.

This British memorandum, dated 19 February 1948, outlines to the Luxembourg Government the logic behind the Franco-British proposals regarding the establishment of a Western Union, based on the model of the Dunkirk Treaty of 4 March 1947.

Map showing the five founding Member States of Western Union (WU). The Brussels Treaty establishing Western Union is signed on 17 March 1948 and enters into force on 25 August 1948.

On 17 March 1948, in Brussels, the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, France, Luxembourg, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom sign the Treaty of Economic, Social and Cultural Collaboration and Collective Self-Defence. This Treaty leads to the establishement of Western Union. From left to right: Paul-Henri Spaak, Georges Bidault, Joseph Bech, Baron Carel Godfried van Boetzelaer van Oosterhout and Ernest Bevin.

On 10 March 1948, Robert Als, Minister Plenipotentiary of Luxembourg in Brussels, sends a letter to his Minister for Foreign Affairs, Joseph Bech, in which he lists the main provisions of the future Brussels Treaty and summarises the position of the various negotiating countries.

On 19 February 1948, Pierre Saffroy, French Ambassador to Luxembourg, sends a letter to Joseph Bech, Luxembourg Foreign Minister, in which he sets out a plan for a treaty between France and Luxembourg broadly based on the Treaty of Dunkirk of 4 March 1947.

On 30 January 1948, Hervé de Gruben, Director-General for Policy in the Belgian Foreign Ministry, submits for the approval of the Foreign Ministers of the Benelux countries, among others, his memorandum on the consolidation and organisation of Western Europe, dated 28 January.

On 15 September 1954, the Information and Documentation Service of the Council of the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) publishes a brief historical overview of the establishment of Western Union (WU).

Joint memorandum dated 19 February 1948 from the three Benelux countries to the United Kingdom and France concerning the military defence of Europe and the establishment of a Western Union.

On 20 October 1948, Raoul de Fraiteur, Belgian Defence Minister, sends a confidential letter to Paul-Henri Spaak, Belgian Prime Minister and Foreign Minister, in which he reviews the decisions adopted by the conference of defence ministers of the five Member States of Western Union.