On January 1, 1999, the euro was introduced and the Belgian franc ceased to exist independently, when it became fixed at one EUR = 40. 3399 BEF.

Belgian euro coins dated 1999 – 2007 have the portrait of King Albert II.

In order to conform to the common guidelines on the design of national faces of coins, Belgium has updated the design of the Belgian national face of euro coins to be produced from 2008.

As from 2007, the Belgian euro coins also adopted the new common map like the rest of the eurozone countries.

A proportion of the Belgian 2 euro coins-common part, the map looks smooth, whereas, the same map on the euros coming from other eurozone countries is dotted.

The following table shows the mintage quantity for all Belgian euro coins, per denomination, per year ( the numbers are represented in millions ).

To celebrate the 75th anniversary of the stadium ( and the 100th anniversary of Derby's team ) the Belgian state released a commemorative coin: the 10 euro 75 years of Heysel Stadium commemorative coin.

* The 50th anniversary of The Smurfs and the 80th anniversary of the birth of its creator, was celebrated by issuing a high-value collectors ' coin: the Belgian 5 euro 50th anniversary of The Smurfs commemorative coin, minted in 2008.

Celebrating the 100th anniversary of " Maurice Maeterlinck's greatest contemporary success The Blue Bird ", as it was termed, his play was selected as the main motif of a high-value collectors ' coin: the Belgian 50 euro Maurice Maeterlinck commemorative coin, minted in 2008.

* The Belgian revolution of 1830 was recently depicted in one of the highest value Belgian coins ever minted, the 100 euro " 175 Years of Belgium " coin.

Vietnam is currently the only Asian country receiving preferential development aid from the Belgian government for the 2007-2010 period, in the amount of 32 million euro ( US $ 45 million ).

* The 50th anniversary of Expo 58 was selected as the main motif of a high-value collectors ' coin: the Belgian 100 euro 50th Anniversary of the International Expo in Belgium commemorative coin, minted in 2008.

It is assumed that the Belgian graphic designer Alain Billiet was the winner and thus the designer of the euro sign.

Adenauer was the main motive for one of the most recent and famous gold commemorative coins: the Belgian 3 pioneers of the European unification commemorative coin, minted in 2002.

All coins have a common reverse side showing how much the coin is worth, with a design by Belgian designer Luc Luycx.

The year featured in the coins can date back to 1999, when the currency was formally established ( only Belgian, Finnish, French, Dutch, and Spanish coins have 1999 ).

Each of the eight coins can have the same design ( such as Belgian coins ), or can vary from coin to coin ( such as Italian coins ).

Euro gold and silver commemorative coins ( Belgium )# 2006 coinage | 175th Anniversary of the Belgian Dynasty Coin

Switzerland had 20 Swiss franc pieces, Spain had 20 peseta coins, Italy had 20 lira pieces, Belgium had 20 Belgian franc coins, and Greece had 20 drachma coins, all of which circulated and were accepted throughout Europe.

The coinage of Belgian Congo ceased in 1929, only to be resumed in 1936 and 1937 for the issue of nickel-bronze 5-franc coins.

Only during the period when Burundi used the Belgian Congo franc were centime coins issued.

A feature of its history is the number of wars between other European powers which have included campaigns on Belgian territory, causing it to be nicknamed " The Cockpit of Europe ".

A peculiar feature of Belgian federalism is the fact that the country's Communities and Regions maintain their own international relations, including the conclusion of treaties.

In 1992, Poelvoorde, Delvaux and Bonzel directed together their first long feature C ' est arrivé près de chez vous ( Man Bites Dog internationally ) originally a low-budget school graduation project ( 1992 ) and a kind of cynical " noir " movie, inspired from the famous Belgian series " Strip-Tease " which went on to become a critically acclaimed cult movie.

The novel is a fine example of a " country house mystery " and was the first of her novels in four years to feature Christie's Belgian detective Hercule Poirot — one of the longest gaps in the entire series.

* Pinocchio in Outer Space ( Belgian co-produced feature film )

Enterprise Island and Nansen Island were first charted as one feature and named " Île Nansen " by the Belgian Antarctic Expedition under Adrien de Gerlache in 1898.

Not only was his Belgian nationality interesting because of Belgium's occupation by Germany ( which provided a valid explanation of why such a skilled detective would be out of work and available to solve mysteries at an English country house ), but also at the time of Christie's writing, it was considered patriotic to express sympathy with the Belgians, since the invasion of their country had constituted Britain's casus belli for entering World War I, and British wartime propaganda emphasized the " Rape of Belgium ".

On publication of the latter, Poirot was the only fictional character to be given an obituary in the New York Times ; 6 August 1975 " Hercule Poirot is Dead ; Famed Belgian Detective ".

This was because the FP had always only been officered by Belgian or other expatriate whites.

The Belgian Government made no effort to train Congolese commissioned officers until the very end of the Colonial period and there were only about 20 African cadets in training on the eve of Independence.

Despite these improvements, a second invasion by the former Katangan gendarmerie, known as Shaba II in May – June 1978, was only dispersed with the despatch of the French 2e régiment étranger de parachutistes and a battalion of the Belgian Paracommando Regiment.

King William I was also given rule over Belgium, but this lasted only until the conclusion of the Belgian Revolution in 1831.

Early in 1994 Major vetoed the Belgian politician Jean-Luc Dehaene as President of the European Commission ( in succession to Jacques Delors ) for being excessively federalist, only to find that he had to accept a Luxembourg politician of similar views, Jacques Santer, instead.

As of the 2012 Formula One season Schumacher is the only driver left competing in Formula 1 to have raced against Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost, whose record of total career wins he beat with his 52nd win at the 2001 Belgian Grand Prix.

The only teenage soap opera on Belgian television was Spring ( Jump in English ), aired at youth channel Ketnet.

Its meaning narrowed yet again during the French and Dutch periods and at Belgian independence the term designated only Belgians speaking a Romance language ( French, Walloon, Picard, etc.

Apart from a second place at the Belgian Grand Prix, the only other European Championship race, the French Grand Prix, resulted in a disappointing 11th place finish.

A week after Messines Ridge Haig gave his objectives to his Army commanders: wearing out the enemy, securing the Belgian coast and connecting with the Dutch frontier by the capture of Passchendaele Ridge, followed by an advance on Roulers and Operation Hush, an attack along the coast with an amphibious landing and that if the manpower and artillery were insufficient, only the first part of the plan might be fulfilled.

Bernhardt had an affair with a Belgian nobleman, Charles-Joseph Eugène Henri Georges Lamoral de Ligne ( 1837 – 1914 ), son of Eugène, 8th Prince of Ligne, with whom she had her only child, Maurice Bernhardt ( 1864 – 1928 ).

At the matinee, that didn't sell out, Herman Brood and Belgian musician Jean Blaute dropped by for the only live-performance of Als Je Wint ( When You're A Winner ; a song about success and equally-lasting friendships ).

At his request, his memoirs about Prince Charles ( which he wrote at Churchill's suggestion ) were only published after de Staercke's death in 2003, with the help of and a preface by Belgian historian Jean Stengers.

Even Churchill admitted that their position was perilous: in a telegram to Lord Gort on 27 May, only one day before the Belgian capitulation, he wrote, " We are asking them to sacrifice themselves for us.

When, however, the only legitimate son of his uncle, Leopold II, died as a child, and Albert's older brother, Prince Baudouin of Belgium, who had been subsequently prepared for the throne, also died young, Albert, at the age of 16, unexpectedly became second in line ( after his father ) to the Belgian Crown.

Previous Belgian kings had taken the royal accession oath only in French ; Albert innovated by taking it in Dutch as well.

An important aspect of the early years of Albert's reign was his institution of many reforms in the administration of the Belgian Congo, Belgium's only colonial possession.

For Raymond Fusilier, the Belgian monarchy had to be placed-at least in the beginning-between the regimes where the king rules and the regime when the king does not rule but only reigns.

The Belgian monarchy is closer to the principle the King does not rule But the Belgian kings were not only at the head of the dignified part of the Constitution.

According to the Belgian constitution, the monarch accedes to the throne only upon taking a constitutional oath.