The Benelux Union, or simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union, alliance and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighbouring states in Western Europe: Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. The name is a syllabic abbreviation formed from the initial syllable of each country's name and was first used to name the customs agreement that initiated the union. It is now used more generally to refer to the geographic, economic, and cultural grouping of the three countries.