A new
Dutch-Belgian border agreement has gone into effect, giving the Netherlands two
peninsulas the size of 23 soccer fields. The discovery of a headless body
prompted the border move to clear up jurisdictional issues.
Deutsche Welle, 1 January 2018
 |
| People walk past Dutch and Belgian flags on the waterfront in Eijsden, Netherlands (picture-alliance/AP Photo/V. Mayo) |
Alongside
fireworks and champagne, the Netherlands and Belgium rang in the New Year with
some new territory after a revised border agreement between the European
neighbors went into effect on Monday.
The curious
border situation centers on an area between the eastern Belgian municipality of
Vise and the southwestern Dutch municipality of Eijsden that are split by the
Meuse River.
Over time,
the river's changing course meant that two uninhabited peninsulas that belong
to Belgium ended up on the Dutch side of the river while a section of Dutch
territory ended up on the Belgian side of the Meuse.
Under the
new deal, the border between the two countries in that area now splits down the
middle of the river. The Netherlands gained an area the size of 23 soccer
fields (16.37 hectares; 40.5 acres).
Belgium, on
the other hand, gains an area as big as four soccer fields (3.09 hectares; 7.6
acres) and loses the idyllic nature parks on the peninsulas to the Dutch. The
big win for Belgium, however, is a solution to a jurisdiction nightmare caused
by the previous border.
 |
| Screenshot of the border between the Netherlands and Belgium at the river Meuse (Google Maps) |
A Google
Maps screenshot shows the twisting and turning old border that created pockets
of Belgian and Dutch territory on opposite sides of the Meuse River
A body and
a border
The
uninhabited peninsulas garnered a dark reputation over time. Local residents
complained that the small areas were used for illegal parties, drug deals and
prostitution, according to Dutch broadcaster NOS.
Around four
years ago, things came to a head after a couple walking on one of the
peninsulas stumbled across a headless body.
They
informed the Dutch authorities, but police in the Netherlands were unable to
investigate as the body was found on Belgian territory.
Read more:
Belgian artist cut free after chaining himself to marble block to show 'burdenof history'
On the
other side, Belgian authorities had a difficult time getting to the crime
scene. Belgian police are not allowed to cross into the Netherlands without
receiving special permission, so they had to travel by boat.
The
peninsula also didn't have a suitable docking area for their boats,
Jean-Francois Duchesne, the police commissiare of the Lower Meuse region told
the Associated Press last year.
"So we
had to go there by boat with all that was needed — the prosecutor, the legal
doctor, the judicial lab — we had to do round trips over the water. It really
was not very practical," Duchesne said.
Belgian and
Dutch royals signed off on the deal last November, over 170 years after the
countries' borders were originally agreed in 1843.
In 2016,
Belgium's Foreign Minister Didier Reynders hailed the deal, saying it was a
sign of good relations between the two countries.
"The
agreement shows that borders can also be exchanged peacefully," he said.
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German
Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (above left) and his Dutch
counterpart,
Bert Koenders (right)
|
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The border between Belgium and the Netherlands at Baarle-Nassau
(photo credit: Tos/Wikipedia) |
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