Brussels and the European Union

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The location of Brussels in Belgium and the EU

Brussels (Belgium) is considered to be the de facto capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting the institutions of the European Union. However it is important to note that the EU has no official capital with no plans to declare one. The city hosts the official seats of the European Commission, Council of the European Union, European Council and a second seat of the European Parliament.

Most of the institutions are located within the European Union (EU) quarter, or district, of Brussels, which is the unofficial name of the area corresponding to the approximate triangle between Brussels Park, Cinquantenaire Park and Leopold Park (with the Parliament's hemicycle extending into the latter). The Commission and Council are located in the heart of this area near to the Schuman station at the Schuman roundabout on the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat. The European Parliament is located over the Brussels-Luxembourg station, next to Luxembourg Square.^[1]

1 History
2 Status
3 Institutions
4 Other buildings
5 Future
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

[edit] History

Further information: Location of European Union institutions#History

In 1951 European Coal and Steel Community leaders were deciding on the location of the community's institutions, although they would have accepted Brussels, the Belgian government at the time was unstable so Luxembourg was chosen as a provisional seat. Since the treaties of Rome in 1957 establishing the European Economic Community and the European Atomic Energy Community, administrative departments were eventually set up in Brussels and the executives met alternatively in Brussels and Luxembourg. Due to practical reasons however, meetings began to take place only in Brussels.^[2]^[1]

In 1965 when the merger treaty combined the executives of the three communities. With a desire to centralise all the institutions, Luxembourg was concerned about losing all her institutions such as the High Authority. Luxembourg's demand for compensation led to the current arrangement of institutions split across the three cities, through this Brussels was granted most Commission departments, the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, the Economic and Social Committee, the Committee of the Regions and host meetings of the Parliaments political groups. The new Commission of the European Communities was based on the Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée/Blijde Inkomstlaan.^[2]^[1] These decisions were reaffirmed by the Edinburgh European Council (1992-12-12).^[3]

However the 1965 agreement was a source of contention for the Parliament which wished to be closer to the other institutions, it began moving some of its decision making bodies, committee and political group meetings to Brussels. In 1985 it went further by building a plenary chamber in Brussels for some part-sessions. In response the European Council adopted a final agreement on the location of the institutions. According to this decision, which was subsequently annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam,^[4] the Parliament, although required to hold some of its sessions, including its budget session, in Strasbourg, extra sessions and committees could meet in Brussels. It also reaffirmed the presence of the Commission and Council in the city.^[5]

In 2002 it was agreed that the European Council should also be based in Brussels, having been moving between different cities as the EU's Presidency rotated. From 2004 all Councils were meant to be held in Brussels, however some extraordinary meetings are still held elsewhere. The reason for the move was in part due to the experience of the Belgian police in dealing with protesters and the fixed facilities in Brussels.^[6]

[edit] Status

Brussels attracts the most journalists in the world (Commission press room)

Like Washington D.C., Brussels is a centre of political activity with ambassadors to Belgium, NATO and the Union meaning there are more ambassadors based in the city than in the US capital. There's also a greater number of press corps in Brussels with media outlets in every Union member-state having a Brussels correspondent (although little representation of US press) and there are 10,000 lobbyists registered.^[7]

The Commission employs 25,000^[7] people and the Parliament employs about 5000 people^[8]. Because of this concentration, Brussels is a preferred location for any move towards a single seat.^[9]^[10]

There are two further cities hosting major institutions, Luxembourg and Strasbourg. At present the rail link between the three EU capitals is weak and there are plans for a high speed rail link from Brussels to the other two cities.^[11]

[edit] Institutions

[edit] Commission

Further information: Berlaymont building

Berlaymont, 2007

The most iconic structure is of course the Berlaymont, the primary seat of the Commission. It was the first building to be constructed for the Community, originally built in the 1960s. It was designed by Lucien De Vestel, Jean Gilson, André Polak and Jean Polak and paid for by the Belgian government (who could occupy it if the Commission left Brussels). It was inspired by a UNESCO building in Paris, designed as a four-pointed star on supporting columns, and at the time an ambitious design.

Originally built with flock asbestos, the building was renovated in the 1990s to remove it and renovate the ageing building to cope with enlargement. After a period of exile in the Breydel building on the Avenue d'Auderghem/Oudergemlaan, the Commission reoccupied the Berlaymont in 2005 and bought the building for 550 million euros.

The president of the Commission occupies the largest office, near the Commission's meeting room on the top (13th) floor. Although the main Commission building, it houses only 2,000 out of the 20,000 Commission officials based in Brussels. In addition to the Commissioners and their cabinets, the Berlaymont also houses the Commission's Secretariat-General and Legal Service.

Across the quarter the Commission occupies 865,000m² in 61 buildings with the Berlaymont and Charlemagne buildings the only ones over 50,000m². Due to the accession of 12 new members in 2004 and 2007 staff has risen by 2,250 demanding an extra 35,000m² of office space. There are concerns that further buildings within the district will create a "ghetto effect". In response to this problem the Commission has, since 2004, begun decentralising across the city to areas such as avenue de Beaulieulaan and rue de Genèvestraat in Evere.^[12]^[13] Neither the Parliament or Council have followed suit and the policy of decentralisation is unpopular among the Commission's staff.^[14]

[edit] Council

Further information: Justus Lipsius building

Across the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat from the Berlayont is the Justus Lipsius building which houses the Council of the European Union and the European Council. The Council's secretariat had originally been based in the city centre, and then in the Charlemagne building joining the other European buildings centred on the Schuman roundabout.^[2]^[1] From 2013 they will move info Résidence Palace next door once it has been renovated and the LEX building beyond that was occupied by the Council in 2007.^[14]

[edit] Parliament

Further information: Espace Léopold

Parliament, Paul-Henri Spaak building

The Parliament's buildings are located to the south between Leopold Park and Luxembourg Square, over Brussels-Luxembourg Station which is underground. The complex, known as the "Espace Léopold" (or "Leopoldsruimte" in Dutch), has two main buildings: Paul-Henri Spaak and Altiero Spinelli which cover 372,000 m². The complex is not the official seat of the Parliament with its work being split with Strasbourg (its official seat) and Luxembourg (its secretariat). However the decision making bodies of the Parliament, along with its committees and some of its plenary sessions, are held in Brussels to the extent that three quarters of its activity take place in Brussels.^[15]

The Parliament buildings have recently been extended with the new D4 and D5 buildings being completed and occupied in 2007 and 2008. It is believed the complex now provides enough space for Parliament for the next ten to fifteen years with no major new building projects foreseen.^[14]

[edit] Other buildings

The Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions together occupy the Delors building, which is next to Leopold Park and used to be occupied by the Parliament. They also use the office building Bertha von Suttner. Both buildings were named in 2006.^[16]^[17] Brussels also hosts two agencies, the European Defence Agency (located on Rue des Drapiers/Lakenweversstraat) and the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation - (in Madou Tower). There is also EUROCONTROL, a semi-EU air traffic control agency covering much of Europe and the Western European Union which is a non-EU military organisation which is merging into the EU's CFSP.

[edit] Future

[edit] Rebuilding

Madou Tower, new buildings are set to go higher

In September 2007, the Commissioner for Administrative Affairs Siim Kallas, together with Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region Charles Picqué, unveiled plans for rebuilding the district. It would involve new buildings (220,000m² of new office space) but also more efficient use of existing space. This is primarily through replacing numerous smaller buildings with fewer, larger, buildings.^[18]

Although they would be taller than the current buildings (such as Berlaymont, Charlemagne or Madou), they would not be skyscrapers. The freed up space (some 180,000m²) would be given over to housing, shops, services and open spaces to give the area a more "human" feel. This would in particularly be around the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, which would be reduced from four lanes of traffic to two while transport links will be "optimised",^[18] including to Brussels Airport and Brussels-South station. A sixth European School may also be built.^[19]

Given the delays and cost of the Berlaymont and other projects, the Commissioner emphasises that the new plans would offer "better value for money" and that the designs would be subject to an international architecture competition. He also pushed that controlling the buildings carbon footprint would be "an integral part of the programme".^[18]

[edit] Pedestrian squares

Cinquantenaire would be one of three European pedestrian squares and may host the European Council

There are also plans to pedestrianise of part of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat next to the Berlaymont.^[11] A new Place Schumanplein (currently the Schuman roundabout) would be one of three new pedestrian squares. Schuman would focus on "policy and politics"^[19] and Schuman station itself will be redesigned.^[20] Coverings over nearby motorways and railways would be extended to shield them from view.^[19]

A pedestrian and visual link would be created between the Berlaymont and Leopold park by demolishing sections of the the ground to fourth floors of Justus Lipsius, the south "bland" facade of which would be redesigned. Further pedestrian and cycle links would be created around the quarter. Pedestrian routes would also be created for demonstrations. Next to the Parliament at Leopold Park, Luxembourg Square would become the second pedestrian square (focusing on citizens).^[19]

The third pedestrian square would be the "Esplanade du Cinquantenaire" or "Esplanade van het Jubelpark" (for events and festivities).^[21] Wider development may also surround Cinquantenaire Park with plans for a new metro station, underground car park and the Europeanisation of part of the Cinquantenaire complex with a "socio-cultural facility". It is possible that the European Council may have to move to this area from Résidence Palace for security reasons.^[19]

Charles Picqué has plans for a "new symbol of Europe" in the Quarter. This could be a ‘Maison de l‘Europe’ or 'Huis van Europa', acting as an emblem of Europe and back Brussels in its position as capital of Europe. This idea has also been touted by Commission President José Manuel Barroso who desires a "space reflecting the history of the European project". Parliament President Hans-Gert Pöttering wishes to use the Eastman Building, next to Leopold Park, as a House of Contemporary European History but has not yet won the backing of MEPs.^[14]

[edit] Political status

Brussels' regional parliament, possibility of a city state?

In 2007, problems in forming a government because of different opinions concerning a state reform increased support for the independence of Flanders by Flemish independentalists from Belgium. Belgium currently operates a complex federal system between Flanders (Dutch speaking) and Wallonia (French speaking) which has been criticised by some but the system has also been compared to the EU, as a "laboratory of Europe". The Brussels-Capital Region, however, is surrounded by Flanders, yet is predominantly French speaking and officially bilingual.

In the event of independence, the future status of the city is unknown and problematic, but some have suggested it become a "European [capital] district", like Washington D.C. or the Australian Capital Territory, run by the EU rather than Flanders or Wallonia.^[22]^[23] However unlike these it would also be likely that Brussels itself would be an EU member state.^[24] The possible status of Brussels as a "city state" has also been suggested by Charles Picqué, Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region, who sees a tax on the EU institutions as a way of enriching the city. However the Belgian issue has very little discussion within the EU bodies.^[25]

It may also be supported by the political territory of the city extending into bordering municipalities of the Flemish Brabant and Walloon Brabant, these rich areas would not only make the city financially viable as an independent state but potentially give the city around 1.5 million inhabitants, an airport and forest within its boundaries and make it three or four times larger than the current capital region. A large and independent status may help Brussels in its claim as the capital of the EU.^[24]