Borders of Belgium

[1] The border between Belgium and the Netherlands was only delimited by the Boundary Treaty signed in the Hague on 5 November 1842, and the Convention of Maastricht of 8 August 1843.

The Hague Treaty delimited the border in general terms while the Maastricht Convention delineated the boundary with detailed descriptions and maps on a 1:10,000 or, where necessary, 1:2,500 scale.

[2] The limits of the Belgium–France border are outlined in the 1820 Treaty of Kortrijk, agreed between France and the then-United Kingdom of the Netherlands.

When the areas of Eupen, Malmedy and St. Vith became part of Belgium as a result of the Versailles Treaty, a strip 5 metres (16 ft) wide along the railway line became Belgian territory.

[7] A sixth German enclave to the south, Hemmeres, was also cut off by a railway line, but it was handed back to Germany in 1956.

[2] While the two treaties resulted in the finalisation and demarcation of the main border between the two countries, they left the complicated territorial situation in Baarle unresolved.

The current Belgian enclaves as well as Dutch counter-enclaves have resulted in what has been called the world's most complicated international boundary.