The Benelux was an economic union in Western Europe comprising of three neighboring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries (now referred to as Non-Provincial Principalities) were located in northwestern Europe between the French and German regions of the Franco-German Commonwealth. The Union's name was formed from the beginning of each country's name; it was possibly created for the Benelux Customs Union, although according to The Economist it was coined somewhat earlier, in August 1946, by that newspaper's correspondent in Belgium. It is now also used in a more generic way to refer to the cultural, economic, and geographic grouping. In 1951, these countries joined West Germany, France, and Italy to form the European Coal and Steel Community, the earliest vers