History, European Integration

Belgium moved to support increased economic and political cooperation in Europe by ratifying the Treaty on European Union, or the Maastricht Treaty, in the fall of 1992. In May 1993 Belgium approved the devolution process and it became a federal state with three regions—Flanders, Wallonia, and Brussels—in July of that year. King Baudouin died on July 31, 1993, and was succeeded by his brother Albert, who ruled as Albert II. In parliamentary elections held in May 1995, Dehaene’s coalition was returned to power. Belgium took another step toward integrating with Europe in May 1998, when it officially agreed to replace its national currency with a new single European currency, the euro. The euro was introduced in 1999 and entirely replaced the Belgian currency, along with the currencies of other European nations participating in the single currency, in early 2002.