Belgian prime minister Bart De Wever has called for an “intimate union” between the Benelux countries and stronger cooperation within the European Union, particularly on trade and migration policy.

Speaking in Amsterdam at the annual HJ Schoo lecture, organised by weekly magazine EW, De Wever described the break-up of the Low Countries as “the greatest disaster that ever befell us.”

The Netherlands and Belgium have had close ties for centuries, but were only briefly united as one state between 1815 and 1830. Before and after that period, both northern and southern provinces regularly shared rulers, from Spain’s Charles V to France’s Napoleon.

A deeper relationship between the Benelux countries is “no romantic dream or nostalgic thought, but a politica aim which is needed for our future,” De Wever said at the Rode Hoed debate centre in the Dutch capital.

De Wever pointed to article 350 of the EU treaty, which allows the Benelux nations to pursue deeper cooperation than other member states.

“The possibilities are so enormous and so crucial that we could even turn ‘article 350’ into a slogan,” he said. Stronger links, he argued, would benefit both prosperity and influence in Europe.

The Belgian premier also urged the EU to work towards “strategic autonomy” by securing trade agreements and reducing reliance on other powers. He criticised environmental rules that limit raw material extraction as a form of “green masochism.”

De Wever said the EU should further integrate its capital and services markets, mentioning sectors such as telecommunications and energy. “Our internal market is our most important trading destination,” he said.

The HJ Schoo lecture traditionally marks the start of the Dutch political year.