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92-616: A European Quarter (also: "European District", "EU Quarter" and other variations or by the French: Quartier européen ) usually refers to an area of a city containing a concentration of pan-European institutions (notably, those of the European Union and Council of Europe). At present, there are three such quarters; The European Quarter of Brussels , Belgium The European Quarter of Strasbourg , France The European Quarter of

184-584: A Brussels correspondent and there are 10,000 lobbyists registered. The presence of the EU and the other international bodies has, for example, led to there being more ambassadors and journalists in Brussels than in Washington, D.C. Brussels is third in the number of international conferences it hosts, also becoming one of the largest convention centres in the world. The total number of journalists accredited to

276-837: A competition to redesign the Rue de la Loi between Maalbeek/Maelbeek Garden and the Résidence Palace in the east to the Small Ring in the west. Siim Kallas stated that the project, which would be put into action over a few a long period rather than all at once, would create a "symbolic area for the EU institutions" giving "body and soul to the European political project" and providing the Commission with extra office space. The road would be reduced from four lanes to two, be returned to two way traffic (rather than all west-bound), and

368-479: A debate on the declaration of government. Following this debate, a vote of Confidence takes place. If the prime minister obtains the confidence of the majority, he can begin implementing the government agreement. Catholics and later Christian Democrats have led most of the governments in Belgian history. However, from 1999 until 2007, liberal Guy Verhofstadt led two "purple" governments of liberals and socialists,

460-399: A further €0.8 billion come from the expenses of diplomats, journalists, etc. Business tourism in the city generates 2.2 million annual hotel room nights. There are thirty international schools (15,000 pupils run by 2000 employees) costing €99 million a year. However, there is considerable division between the two communities, with local Brussels residents feeling excluded from

552-515: A month before talks to enter its application, which received unofficial backing by several member states . The members agreed in principle to locate the executives, Councils, and the assembly in one city, though could still not decide which city, so they put the decision off for six months. In the meantime, the Assembly would stay in Strasbourg and the new Commissions would meet alternatively at

644-463: A neutral territory between the major European powers. The committee's report was approved of by the Council, Parliament and Commissions, however, the Council was still unable to achieve a final vote on the issue, and hence put off the issue for a further three years, despite all the institutions now leading in moving to Brussels. The decision was put off due to the varied national positions preventing

736-571: A new State Reform. The Formateur is appointed by the king on the basis of the informateur's report. The task of the Formateur is to form a new government coalition and lead the negotiations about the government agreement and the composition of the government. If these negotiations succeed, the Formateur presents a new Federal Government to the king. Usually, the Formateur also becomes the Prime Minister . In accordance with article 96 of

828-494: A pedestrian/cyclist path between the two districts. The plan proposes that this "promenade of Europeans" of 3,720 metres (12,200 ft) be divided into areas dedicated to each of the member states. Belgium operates a complex federal system and is divided into three regions, with the Brussels-Capital Region being an independent region, alongside Flanders and Wallonia . The regions are mostly responsible for

920-680: A seat had to be found before the institutions could begin work, hence Luxembourg was chosen as a provisional seat, though with the Common Assembly in Strasbourg as that was the only city with a large enough hemicycle (the one used by the Council of Europe ). This agreement was temporary, and plans were set to relocate the institutions to Saarbrücken (Germany), which would serve as a "European District", but this did not occur. The 1957 Treaty of Rome established two new communities:

1012-517: A unanimous decision. Luxembourg fought to keep the ECSC or have compensation; France fought for Strasbourg; Italy, initially backing Paris, fought for any Italian city to thwart Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Meanwhile, the Parliament passed a series of resolutions complaining about the whole situation of spreading itself across three cities, though unable to do anything about it. The 1965 Merger Treaty

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1104-411: Is a centre of political activity with ambassadors to Belgium, NATO and the EU being based in the city. It hosts 120 international institutions, 181 embassies ( intra muros ) and more than 2,500 diplomats , making it the second centre of diplomatic relations in the world (after New York City ). There is also a greater number of press corps in the city with media outlets in every EU member state having

1196-493: Is a proposal to link it with the main quarter by covering the railway lines between Beaulieu and the European Parliament (the esplanade of which sits on top of Brussels-Luxembourg Station). Traffic on the lines is expected to increase creating environmental problems that would be solved by covering the lines. The surface would then be covered by flagstones, in the same manner as the Parliament's esplanade, to create

1288-412: Is also the voice of the federal government within their political party. Government meetings are conducted through simultaneous interpreters. The prime minister and his ministers administer the government and the various Federal Public Services (Dutch: Federale Overheidsdienst , French: Service public fédéral ); roughly equivalent to ministries in other countries' administrative organization. As in

1380-425: Is comparable to an Indian city. However, he also said that the city has made progress over the last decade in mixing land uses, bringing in more businesses and residences, and that the institutions are more open to "interacting" with the city. The quarter's land-use is very homogenous and criticised by some, for example the former Commission President, Romano Prodi , for being an administrative ghetto isolated from

1472-566: Is different from Wikidata All article disambiguation pages All disambiguation pages Brussels and the European Union#European Quarter Brussels ( Belgium ) is considered the de facto capital of the European Union , having a long history of hosting a number of principal EU institutions within its European Quarter . The EU has no official capital but Brussels hosts

1564-612: Is headquartered in Haren , on the north-eastern perimeter of the City of Brussels . The EU's presence in Brussels has created significant social and economic impact. Jean-Luc Vanraes  [ nl ] , member of the Brussels' Parliament responsible for the city's external relations, goes as far to say the prosperity of Brussels "is a consequence of the European presence". As well as the institutions themselves, large companies are drawn to

1656-574: Is located in one of the most urbanised regions of Europe , between Paris , London , the Rhine-Ruhr (Germany), and the Randstad (Netherlands). Via high speed trains , Brussels is around 1hr 25min from Paris, 1hr 50min from London, Amsterdam and Cologne (with adjacent Düsseldorf and the Rhine-Ruhr), and 3hr from Frankfurt . The "Eurocap-rail" project plans to improve Brussels' links to

1748-518: Is located over Brussels-Luxembourg railway station , next to the Place du Luxembourg/Luxemburgplein . The area, much of which was known as the Leopold Quarter for most of its history, was historically residential, an aspect which was rapidly lost as the institutions moved in, although the change from a residential area to a more office oriented one had already been underway for some time before

1840-608: Is the unofficial name of the area corresponding to the approximate triangle between Brussels Park , Cinquantenaire Park and Leopold Park (with the European Parliament's hemicycle extending into the latter). The Commission and Council are located on either side of the Rue de la Loi at the heart of this area near Schuman railway station and the Robert Schuman Roundabout . The European Parliament

1932-669: The Avenue de Broqueville / De Broquevillelaan , the Avenue de Tervueren/Tervurenlaan , the Rue d'Arlon / Aarlenstraat , the Rue Joseph II / Jozef II-straat , the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and the Avenue de Kortenberg / Kortenberglaan . The Belgian Government further provided newly built offices on the Mont des Arts/Kunstberg (22, Rue des Sols / Stuiversstraat ) for the Council of Ministers' Secretariat and European Investment Bank . A Committee of Experts deemed Brussels to be

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2024-483: The Belgian Constitution , the king appoints and dismisses his ministers. However, since all royal acts require the countersignature of a minister, the outgoing prime minister countersigns the royal order appointing the new prime minister, who then countersigns the royal order accepting the resignation of his predecessor. The prime minister then countersigns the royal orders appointing the other members of

2116-540: The Council of the European Union and the European Council have used as their headquarters since the beginning of 2017. Their former home in the adjacent Justus Lipsius building is still used for low-level meetings and to house the Council's Secretariat , which has been located in Brussels' city centre and the Charlemagne building during the course of its history. The renovation and construction of

2208-539: The E411 leads away to the SE. Brussels is also served by Brussels Airport , located in the nearby Flemish municipality of Zaventem , and by the smaller Brussels South Charleroi Airport , located near Charleroi (Wallonia), some 50 km (30 mi) from Brussels. Most of the European Union's Brussels-based institutions are located within its European Quarter (French: Quartier Européen ; Dutch: Europese Wijk ), which

2300-764: The European Defence Agency (located on the Rue des Drapiers / Lakenweversstraat ) and the Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (in Madou Plaza Tower in Saint-Josse-ten-Noode ). 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 currently merging into the EU's CFSP, and

2392-592: The European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). These shared the Assembly and Court of the ECSC but created two new sets of Councils and Commissions (equivalent to the ECSC's High Authority). Discussions on the seats of the institutions were left until the last moment before the treaties came into force, so as not to interfere with ratification . Brussels waited until only

2484-541: The Rue de Trêves / Trierstraat would be removed, creating a broad boulevard-like extension of the Place du Luxembourg, the second pedestrian square (focusing on citizens). The third pedestrian square would be the Esplanade du Cinquantenaire / Esplanade van het Jubelpark (for events and festivities). Wider development may also surround Cinquantenaire Park with plans for a new metro station, underground car park and

2576-832: The Triangle building since 1 December 2010. The EEAS's bodies related to the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP) are situated in the Kortenberg building . 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. Brussels also hosts two additional EU agencies:

2668-552: The United Kingdom , ministers must defend their policies and performance in person before the Chamber. An important de facto body is the "inner cabinet" ( kernkabinet ; conseil des ministres restreint or kern ), consisting of the prime minister and the deputy prime ministers. They meet to make the most important political decisions. After the elections, the prime minister of the former government offers his resignation to

2760-475: The Walloon Region ). Half of civil servants are home owners. The "international community" in Brussels numbers at least 70,000 people. The institutions draw in, directly employed and employed by representatives, 50,000 people to work in the city. A further 20,000 people are working in Brussels due to the presence of the institutions (generating €2 billion a year) and 2000 foreign companies drawn into

2852-617: The "Europeanisation" of part of the Cinquantenaire complex with a "socio-cultural facility". It is possible that the Council may have to move to this area from the Europa building for security reasons. The concentration of offices in the European Quarter has led to increase real estate prices due to the increased demand and reduced space. In response to this problem, the Commission has, since 2004, begun decentralising across

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2944-585: The Belgian Government (who could occupy it if the Commission left Brussels). It was inspired by the UNESCO headquarters 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

3036-588: The Belgian Government stepped in to build the Breydel building a short distance from the Berlaymont, in only 23 months, ensuring the Commission could move in before the Edinburgh Summit. Shortly after Edinburgh, the Parliament bought its new building in Brussels. With the status of Brussels now clear, NGOs , lobbyists , advisory bodies and regional offices started basing themselves in the quarter near

3128-471: The Berlaymont and Leopold Park by demolishing sections of the ground to fourth floors of the 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, the block of buildings between the Rue d'Arlon / Aarlenstraat and

3220-551: The Berlaymont. A new Place Schuman / Schumanplein (currently the Robert Schuman Roundabout ) would be one of three new pedestrian squares. Schuman would focus on "policy and politics" and Schuman Station itself would be redesigned. Coverings over nearby motorways and railways would be extended to shield them from view. However, the planned pedestrianisation of the Schuman Roundabout was cancelled in late 2014. A pedestrian and visual link would be created between

3312-454: The Breydel building on the Avenue d'Auderghem, the Commission reoccupied the Berlaymont from 2005 and bought the building for €550 million. 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

3404-489: The Brussels-Capital Region , Charles Picqué , unveiled plans for rebuilding the district. It would involve new buildings (220,000 m (2,368,060 sq ft) of new office space) but also more efficient use of existing space. This is primarily through replacing numerous smaller buildings with fewer, larger, buildings. In March 2009, a French-Belgian-British team led by the French architect Christian de Portzamparc won

3496-506: The Commission intends to develop two or three large "poles" outside the quarter, each greater than 100,000 m (1,076,391 sq ft). The Heysel/Heizel Plateau has been proposed as one of the new poles by the City of Brussels, which intends to develop the area as an international district regardless. The park, built around the Atomium landmark, already hosts a European School , has

3588-526: The Commissioners and their cabinets, the Berlaymont also houses the Commission's Secretariat-General and Legal Service. Across the quarter the Commission occupies 865,000 m (9,310,783 sq ft) in 61 buildings with the Berlaymont and Charlemagne buildings the only ones over 50,000 m (538,196 sq ft). Across the Rue de la Loi from the Berlaymont is the Europa building , which

3680-485: The Constitution. Although the prime minister is officially exempt from this quota, no francophones held the post from 1979 to 2011. Some of the ministers are also deputy prime ministers; but in addition to taking the position of acting prime minister, they are also the link between the government and their political parties. A deputy prime minister is the voice of their political party within the federal government, and

3772-618: The Council, except for April, June and October, when it would meet in Luxembourg. In addition, Luxembourg would keep the Court of Justice, some of the Commission's departments and the Secretariat of the European Parliament . Strasbourg would continue to host the Parliament. Joining the Commission was the merged Council's Secretariat. The ECSC's Secretariat merged with the EEC's and EAEC's in

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3864-586: The ECSC seat and at the Château of Val-Duchesse , in Brussels (headquarters of a temporary committee). The Councils would meet wherever their Presidents wanted to. In practice, this was at Val-Duchesse until autumn 1958 when it moved to central Brussels, at 2, Rue Ravenstein / Ravensteinstraat . Brussels missed out in its bid for a single seat due to a weak campaign from the Belgian Government in negotiations. The government eventually pushed its campaign and started large-scale construction, renting office space in

3956-485: The EU institutions was 955 as of late October 2015. This is marginally higher than 2012, when there were 931 reporters, and almost the same as after the enlargement of 2004 . In addition to the 955 journalists accredited to the EU, there are 358 technicians (e.g. cameramen, photographers, producers, etc.) bringing the total number of accreditation badges to 1313. Belgium supplies by far the largest share of technicians with 376, with Germany on 143 and France on 105. Brussels

4048-560: The EU's position as the " server " of Europe. Despite this, the plans for redevelopment intend to deal with a certain extent of visual identity in the quarter. The most iconic structure is the Berlaymont building , 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

4140-517: The EU, as a "laboratory of Europe". Federal Government of Belgium Formally, executive power is vested in the king , who formally appoints the ministers. However, under the Constitution of Belgium , the king is not politically responsible for exercising his powers, but must exercise it through the ministers. The king's acts are not valid unless countersigned by a minister, and the countersigning minister assumes political responsibility for

4232-424: The European Parliament, said: "As you probably know, some American politicians and American journalists refer to Washington, D.C. as the 'capital of the free world.' But it seems to me that in this great city, which boasts 1,000 years of history and which serves as the capital of Belgium, the home of the European Union, and the headquarters for NATO , this city has its own legitimate claim to that title." Brussels

4324-545: The European Quarter (a " white collar ghetto"). The communities often do not mix much, with expatriates having their own society. This is in part down to that many expatriates in Brussels stay for short periods only and do not always learn the local languages (supplanted by English/ Globish ), remaining in expatriate communities and sending their children to European Schools , rather than local Belgian ones. In September 2007, then- Commissioner for Administrative Affairs , Siim Kallas , together with then- Minister-President of

4416-472: The Flemish and/or the French community. This structure is the result of many compromises in the political spectrum going from separatism to unionism, while also combining the wishes of the Brussels population to have a degree of independence, as well as those of the Flemish and Walloon populations to having a level of influence over Brussels. The system has been criticised by some but it has also been compared to

4508-676: The Flemish-speaking northern region of Flanders far-right Vlaams Belang party made major gains. In the French-speaking southern area of Wallonia the Socialists were strong. The moderate Flemish nationalist party the N-VA remained the largest party in parliament. Belgium’s first female prime minister Sophie Wilmès led the caretaker government since October 2019. The parties finally agreed on federal government 16 months after

4600-492: The King and advises him about the appointment of the Formateur. However the King can also appoint a second Informateur or appoint a royal mediator. The task of a royal mediator is to reach an agreement on contentious issues, resolve remaining obstacles to the formation of a Federal Government and prepare the ground for a Formateur . On 5 July 2007 King Albert II appointed Jean-Luc Dehaene as royal mediator to reach an agreement on

4692-684: The Parliament's half-move to Brussels in the Court of Justice, the Parliament's victory led it to build full facilities in the city. In response the Edinburgh European Council of 1992, the EU adopted a final agreement on the location of its institutions. According to this decision, which was subsequently annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997, although the Parliament was required to hold some of its sessions, including its budgetary session, in Strasbourg, additional sessions and committees could meet in Brussels. It also reaffirmed

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4784-661: The Ravenstein building, which then moved to the Charlemagne building , next to the Berlaymont building , in 1971. In Brussels, staff continued to be spread across a number of buildings, on the Rue Belliard, the Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée, the Rue du Marais and at the Mont des Arts. The first purpose-built building was the Berlaymont building in 1958, designed to house 3000 officials, which soon proved too small, causing

4876-423: The United Kingdom, the three countries whose rivalry played a role in starting the two World Wars and whose reconciliation paved the way for European integration . In 1951, the leaders of six European countries (Belgium, Luxembourg , Netherlands , France , Italy and West Germany ) signed the Treaty of Paris , which created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and with this new community came

4968-410: The act. Thus, in practice, the ministers do the actual day-to-day work of governing. At the federal level, executive power is wielded by the federal government, whilst the prime minister is the head of the government . Each minister heads a ministry, and secretaries of state, who are deputy to a minister, help run these ministries. The government reflects the weight of political parties that constitute

5060-480: The architects proposed a tram line to run down the centre. A series of high rise buildings would be built on either side with three taller "flagship" high rises at the east end on the north side. Charles Picqué described the towers as "iconic buildings that would be among the highest in Brussels" and that "building higher allows you to turn closed blocks into open spaces." The tallest buildings would be up to 80 metres (260 ft) high, though most between 16 and 55, but

5152-471: The arrival of the European institutions. Historical and residential buildings, although still present, have been largely replaced by modern offices. These buildings were built not according to a high quality master plan or government initiative, but according to speculative private sector construction of office space, without which most buildings of the institutions would not have been built. However, due to Brussels's attempts to consolidate its position, there

5244-446: The capital. There are two further cities hosting major institutions, Luxembourg (judicial and second seats) and Strasbourg (Parliament's main seat). Authorities in Strasbourg and organisations based there also refer to Strasbourg as the "capital" of Europe and Brussels, Strasbourg and Luxembourg are also referred to as the joint capitals of Europe. In 2010, then- Vice President of the United States , Joe Biden , while speaking to

5336-423: The city due to the EU's presence. In total, about 10% of the city has a connection to the international community. In terms of demographics, 46% of the population of Brussels is from outside Belgium; of this, half is from other EU member states. About 3/5 of European civil servants live in the Brussels-Capital Region with 63% in the municipalities around the European district (24% in the Flemish Region and 11% in

5428-449: The city employ 80,000 multilingual locals. In Brussels, there are 3,500,000 m (38,000,000 sq ft) of occupied office space; half of this is taken up by the EU institutions alone, accounting for a quarter of available office space in the city. The majority of EU office space is concentrated in the Leopold Quarter . Running costs of the EU institutions total €2 billion a year, half of which benefit Brussels directly, and

5520-547: The city of Luxembourg , Luxembourg [REDACTED] Topics referred to by the same term This disambiguation page lists articles about distinct geographical locations with the same name. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Retrieved from " https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=European_Quarter&oldid=1207357199 " Categories : Place name disambiguation pages Quarters (urban subdivision) Hidden categories: Short description

5612-438: The city to areas such as the Avenue de Beaulieu / Beaulieulaan in Auderghem and the Rue de Genève / Genevestraat in Evere . This has reduced price increases but it is still one of the most expensive areas in the city (€295/m , compared to €196/m on average). Neither the Parliament nor the Council have followed suit, however, and the policy of decentralisation is unpopular among the Commission's staff. Nevertheless,

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5704-400: The current governing coalition for the Chamber. No single party or party family across linguistic lines holds an absolute majority of seats in Parliament. Under current practice, no party family can win enough seats to govern alone, let alone win a majority. The number of ministers is limited to 15, equally divided between French-speaking and Dutch-speaking ministers, according to Article 99 of

5796-505: 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 the city. The Parliament buildings were 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 the Parliament with no major new building projects foreseen. The European External Action Service (EEAS) has been based in

5888-411: The delays and cost of the Berlaymont and other projects, the Commissioner emphasised that the new plans would offer "better value for money" and that the designs would be subject to an international architectural competition. He also pushed that controlling the buildings carbon footprint would be "an integral part of the programme". There were plans to pedestrianise parts of the Rue de la Loi next to

5980-400: The east of the city for use by the institutions. On 11 February 1958, the six member states' governments concluded an unofficial agreement on the setting-up of community offices. On the principle that it would take two years after a final agreement to prepare the appropriate office space, full services were set up in Brussels in expectation of a report from the Committee of Experts looking into

6072-447: The economy, mobility and other territory-related matters. Belgium is also divided into three communities: the Flemish Community , the French Community and the German-speaking Community . These communities are responsible for language-related matters such as culture or education. Brussels does not belong to any community, but has a bilingual status, so Brussels' inhabitants may enjoy education, cultural affairs and education organised by

6164-436: The election results. Following these meetings, an Informateur is appointed. The Informateur has the task of exploring the various possibilities for the new Federal Government and assessing which parties can form a majority in the Federal Parliament . He also meets with prominent people in the socio-economic field to learn their views on the policy that the new Federal Government should conduct. The Informateur then reports to

6256-447: The fact that Brussels enticed an increasing number of the Parliament's sessions to the city, in addition to the main seats of the other two main political institutions, as making Brussels the de facto capital of the EU. Brussels is frequently labelled as the "capital" of the EU, particularly in publications by local authorities, the Commission and press. Indeed, Brussels interprets the 1992 agreement on seats as declaring Brussels as

6348-464: The first francophone to hold the post of prime minister since Paul Vanden Boeynants left office in 1979. The formation of the Di Rupo Government ended the period of political instability between 2007 and 2011 . During the 2014 elections , there was political consensus to not repeat this, and the Michel Government was relatively quickly formed, notably excluding socialists and including the Flemish nationalist N-VA . In May 2019 federal elections in

6440-424: The first institutions: the High Authority , Council of Ministers , Court of Justice and Common Assembly . A number of cities were considered, and Brussels would have been accepted as a compromise, but the Belgian Government put all its effort into backing Liège ( Wallonia ), opposed by all the other members, and was unable to formally back Brussels due to internal instability. Agreement remained elusive and

6532-399: The first of which also included greens. Afterwards, after difficult negotiations and an interim third Verhofstadt government, a government was eventually formed in 2008 led by Christian democrat Yves Leterme . New elections were called in 2010 after liberal Open Vld quit the government. After a record-breaking government formation , the Di Rupo Government was formed; Elio Di Rupo was

6624-466: The higher the building the further back it would be set from the road. The freed up space (some 180,000 m (1,900,000 sq ft)) would be given over to housing, shops, services and open spaces to give the area a more "human" feel. A sixth European School may also be built. On the western edge of the quarter, on the Small Ring, there would be "gates to Europe" to add visual impact. Given

6716-455: The institution to spread out across the neighbourhood. Yet, despite the agreement to host these institutions in Brussels, its formal status was still unclear, and hence the city sought to strengthen its hand with major investment in buildings and infrastructure (including the metro station Schuman ). However, these initial developments were sporadic with little town planning and based on speculation (see Brusselisation ). The 1965 agreement

6808-570: The institutions. The Council, which had been expanding into further buildings as it grew, consolidated once more in the Justus Lipsius building , and in 2002, it was agreed that the European Council should also be based in Brussels, having previously moved 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

6900-605: The king, and the formation process for a new government starts. The incumbent government remains in office in a caretaker role until the new government is sworn in. This process is based largely on constitutional convention rather than written law. The king is first consulted by the President of the Chamber of Representatives and the President of the Senate . The King also meets a number of prominent politicians in order to discuss

6992-522: The largest parking facilities in Belgium, a metro station , an exhibition centre and the Mini-Europe miniature park . The city intends to build an international conference centre with 3,500 seats and an "important commercial centre." The Commission will respond to the proposal in the first half of 2009. As for the existing Beaulieu pole, which is to the south east of the European Quarter, there

7084-477: The matter of a final seat. While waiting for the completion of the building on the Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée / Blijde Inkomstlaan , offices moved to 51–53, Rue Belliard/Belliardstraat on 1 April 1958 (later exclusively used by the Euratom Commission), though with the numbers of European civil servants rapidly expanding, services were set up in buildings on the Rue du Marais / Broekstraat ,

7176-468: The move was in part due to the experience of the Belgian police in dealing with protesters and the fixed facilities in Brussels. The Commission employs 25,000 people and the Parliament employs about 6,000 people. Because of this concentration, Brussels is a preferred location for any move towards a single seat for Parliament. Despite it not formally being the "capital" of the EU, some commentators see

7268-512: The new Council building was intended to change the image of the European Quarter, and was designed by the architect Philippe Samyn to be a "feminine" and "jazzy" building to contrast with the hard, more "masculine" architecture of other EU buildings. The building features a "lantern shaped" structure surrounded by a glass atrium made up of recycled windows from across Europe, intended to appear "united from afar but showing their diversity up close." The European Parliament 's buildings are located to

7360-499: The new Federal Government. The appointed ministers take the oath of office before the king. After they have taken the oath, the new Council of Ministers meets to draw up the declaration of government, in which the Federal Government sets out the main lines of the government agreement and outlines the government agenda. The prime minister reads the declaration of government to the Chamber of Representatives, which then holds

7452-520: The official seats of the European Commission , Council of the European Union , and European Council , as well as a seat (officially the second seat) of the European Parliament . In 2013, this presence generated about €250 million (8.3% of the regional GDP ) and 121,000 jobs (16.7% of the regional employment). The main rationale for Brussels being chosen as "capital of the European Union" was its halfway location between France, Germany and

7544-425: The one option to have all the necessary features for a European capital: a large, active metropolis, without a congested centre or poor quality of housing; good communications with other member states' capitals, including to major commercial and maritime markets; vast internal transport links; an important international business centre; plentiful housing for European civil servants; and an open economy. Furthermore, it

7636-469: The presence of the Commission and Council in the city. Shortly before this summit, the Commission moved into the Breydel building , at 45, Avenue d'Auderghem / Oudergemlaan . This was due to asbestos being discovered in the Berlaymont, forcing its evacuation in 1989. The Commission threatened to move out of the city altogether, which would have destroyed Brussels's chances of hosting the Parliament, so

7728-538: The rest of the city (though this view is not shared by all). There is also a perceived lack of symbolism, with some such as the architect Rem Koolhaas proposing that Brussels needs an architectural symbol to represent Europe (akin to the Eiffel Tower or Colosseum ). Others do not think this is in keeping with the idea of the EU, with the novelist Umberto Eco viewing Brussels as a "soft capital"; rather than it being an "imperial city" of an empire, it should reflect

7820-466: The sole seat of the institutions. Things looked up for Brussels when, in 1985, the Parliament gained its own plenary chamber in the city (on the Rue Wiertz / Wiertzstraat ) for some of its part-sessions. This was done unofficially due to the sensitive nature of the Parliament's seat, with the building being constructed as an "international conference centre". When France unsuccessfully challenged

7912-685: The south between Leopold Park and the Place du Luxembourg, over Brussels-Luxembourg Station, which is underground. The complex, known as the " Espace Léopold " (or "Leopoldsruimte" in Dutch ), has two main buildings: the Paul-Henri Spaak building and the Altiero Spinelli building, which cover 372,000 m (4,004,175 sq ft). 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,

8004-565: The south to Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Brussels is the hub of a range of national roads, the main ones being clockwise: the N1 (N to Breda ), N2 (E to Maastricht ), N3 (E to Aachen ), N4 (SE to Luxembourg) N5 (S to Rheims ), N6 (S to Maubeuge ), N7 (SW to Lille ), N8 (W to Koksijde ) and N9 (NW to Ostend ). The region is skirted by the European route E19 (N-S) and the E40 (E-W), while

8096-441: Was a source of contention for the Parliament, which wished to be closer to the other institutions, so it began moving some of its decision-making bodies, committee and political group meetings to Brussels. In 1983, it went further by symbolically holding a plenary session in Brussels, in the basement of the Mont des Arts Congress Centre. However, the meeting was a fiasco and the poor facilities partly discredited Brussels' aim of being

8188-411: Was large government investment in infrastructure in the quarter. Authorities are keen to stress that the previous chaotic development has ended, being replaced by planned architectural competitions and a master plan (see " future " below). The architect Benoit Moritz has argued that the area has been an elite enclave surrounded by poorer districts since the mid-19th century, and that the contrast today

8280-425: Was largely welcomed by the member states, but opposed by France, not wishing to see the Parliament leave Strasbourg, and by the Parliament itself, which wished to be with the executives and was further annoyed by the fact that it was not consulted on the matter of its own location. Hence, the status quo was maintained with some adjustments; the Commission, with most of its departments, would be in Brussels; as would

8372-565: Was located halfway between France, Germany and the United Kingdom (as in the case of other seats of European institutions), and on the border between the two major European civilisations: Latin and Germanic ; and was at the centre of the first post-war integration experiment: the Benelux . As a capital of a small country, it also could not claim to use the presence of institutions to exert pressure on other member states, it being more of

8464-468: Was seen as an appropriate moment to finally resolve the issue; the separate Commissions and Councils were to be merged. Luxembourg, concerned about losing the High Authority, proposed a split between Brussels and Luxembourg. The Commission and Council were to be located in Brussels, with Luxembourg keeping the Court and Parliamentary Assembly, together with a few of the Commission's departments. This

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