Brussels and the European Union - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

(Belgium

Belgium

Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...

) is considered to be the de facto capital of the European Union

European Union

The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, having a long history of hosting the institutions of the European Union

Institutions of the European Union

The European Union is governed by seven institutions. Article 13 of Treaty on European Union lists them in the following order: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European...

within its European Quarter

European Quarter

A European Quarter usually refers to an area of a city containing a concentration of pan-European institutions...

. The EU has no official

De jure

De jure is an expression that means "concerning law", as contrasted with de facto, which means "concerning fact".De jure = 'Legally', De facto = 'In fact'....

capital, and no plans to declare one, but Brussels hosts the official seats of the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

, Council of the European Union

Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...

, and European Council

European Council

The European Council is an institution of the European Union. It comprises the heads of state or government of the EU member states, along with the President of the European Commission and the President of the European Council, currently Herman Van Rompuy...

, as well as a second seat of the European Parliament

European Parliament

The European Parliament is the directly elected parliamentary institution of the European Union . Together with the Council of the European Union and the Commission, it exercises the legislative function of the EU and it has been described as one of the most powerful legislatures in the world...

Two chances

In 1951, leaders signed the Treaty of Paris

Treaty of Paris (1951)

The Treaty of Paris was signed on 18 April 1951 between France, West Germany, Italy and the three Benelux countries , establishing the European Coal and Steel Community , which subsequently became part of the European Union...

which created the European Coal and Steel Community

European Coal and Steel Community

The European Coal and Steel Community was a six-nation international organisation serving to unify Western Europe during the Cold War and create the foundation for the modern-day developments of the European Union...

(ECSC), and with this new community came the first institutions; the High Authority

High Authority of the European Coal and Steel Community

The High Authority was the executive branch of the former European Coal and Steel Community . It was created in 1951 and disbanded in 1967 when it was merged into the European Commission.-History:...

, Council of Ministers

Council of the European Union

, Court of Justice

European Court of Justice

The Court can sit in plenary session, as a Grand Chamber of 13 judges, or in chambers of three or five judges. Plenary sitting are now very rare, and the court mostly sits in chambers of three or five judges...

and Common Assembly

European Parliament

. 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, opposed by all the other members, and was unable to formally back Brussels due to internal instability.

Agreement remained elusive and a seat had to be found before the institutions could begin work, hence Luxembourg

Luxembourg (city)

The city of Luxembourg , also known as Luxembourg City , is a commune with city status, and the capital of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg. It is located at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse Rivers in southern Luxembourg...

was chosen as a provisional seat, though with the Common Assembly in Strasbourg

Strasbourg

Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...

as that was the only city with a large enough hemicycle

Hemicycle (chamber)

In legislatures, a hemicycle is a term for a semicircular, or horseshoe shaped, debating chamber where deputies sit to discuss and pass legislation. Though composed of Greek roots, the term is French in origin...

(the one used by the Council of Europe

Council of Europe

The Council of Europe is an international organisation promoting co-operation between all countries of Europe in the areas of legal standards, human rights, democratic development, the rule of law and cultural co-operation...

). This agreement was temporary, not even "provisional", and it was the intent that they would move to Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken

Saarbrücken is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. The city is situated at the heart of a metropolitan area that borders on the west on Dillingen and to the north-east on Neunkirchen, where most of the people of the Saarland live....

as a "European District" which did not occur.

The 1957 Treaties of Rome established two new communities, the European Economic Community

European Economic Community

The European Economic Community The European Economic Community (EEC) The European Economic Community (EEC) (also known as the Common Market in the English-speaking world, renamed the European Community (EC) in 1993The information in this article primarily covers the EEC's time as an independent...

(EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community

European Atomic Energy Community

The European Atomic Energy Community is an international organisation which is legally distinct from the European Union , but has the same membership, and is governed by the EU's institutions....

(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 till the last moment before the treaties came into force, so as not to interfere with ratification

Ratification

Ratification is a principal's approval of an act of its agent where the agent lacked authority to legally bind the principal. The term applies to private contract law, international treaties, and constitutionals in federations such as the United States and Canada.- Private law :In contract law, the...

.

Brussels waited till only a month before talks to enter its application, which was unofficially backed 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 the ECSC seat and at the Castle of the Valley of the Duchess

Castle of the Valley of the Duchess

The Castle of Val-Duchesse is a former priory situated in the municipality of Auderghem in the Brussels Capital Region of Belgium. The castle is owned by the Belgian Royal Trust....

, in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

(headquarters of a temporary committee). The Councils would meet wherever their Presidents

Presidency of the Council of the European Union

The Presidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union that rotates between the member states of the European Union every six months. The presidency is not a single president but rather the task is undertaken by a national...

wanted to. In practice, this was the Castle in Brussels until autumn 1958 when it moved to central Brussels: 2 Rue Ravensteinstraat.

Early expansion

Brussels missed out in its bid for a single seat due to a weak campaign from the government in negotiations, despite widespread support from the people. The Belgian government eventually pushed its campaign and started large-scale construction, renting office space in the east of the city for use by the institutions. On 11 February 1958, the six

Inner Six

The Inner Six, or simply The Six, are the six founding member states of the European Communities. This was in contrast to the outer seven who formed the European Free Trade Association rather than be involved in supranational European integration .-History:The inner six are those who responded to...

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 the matter of a final seat.

While waiting for the completion of the building on Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée/Blijde Inkomstlaan, offices moved to 51-53 Rue Belliard

Rue Belliard

Rue Belliard or Belliardstraat is a major street in Brussels, Belgium. The street runs parallel to the Rue de la Loi. Both are one-way streets; where traffic in Rue de la Loi is running in the western direction towards the Brussels city centre, the Rue Belliard is running in the eastern...

straat on 1 April 1958 (later exclusively used by the Euratom Commission), though with the numbers of civil servants

European Civil Service

The European Civil Service is the civil service serving the institutions of the European Union, of which the largest employer is the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union...

rapidly expanding, services were set up in buildings on Rue de Marais/Broekstraat, Avenue de Broquevillelaan, Avenue de Tervueren

Avenue de Tervueren

Avenue de Tervueren or Tervurenlaan is a major thoroughfare in Brussels, Belgium. It runs from Merode in the west, connects with Montgomery Square, passes through Woluwe-Saint-Pierre and the Ring at Quatre Bras and finishes at the park in Tervuren.The avenue was commissioned by King Leopold II of...

laan, Rue d'Arlon/Aarlenstraat, Rue Joseph II/Jozef II-straat, Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and Avenue de 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

European Investment Bank

The European Investment Bank is the European Union's long-term lending institution established in 1958 under the Treaty of Rome. A policy-driven bank, the EIB supports the EU’s priority objectives, especially European integration and the development of economically weak regions...

.

A Committee of Experts deemed Brussels to be the one option to have all the necessary features for a European capital: a large, active metropolis, without a congested

Traffic congestion

Traffic congestion is a condition on road networks that occurs as use increases, and is characterized by slower speeds, longer trip times, and increased vehicular queueing. The most common example is the physical use of roads by vehicles. When traffic demand is great enough that the interaction...

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

European Civil Service

The European Civil Service is the civil service serving the institutions of the European Union, of which the largest employer is the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union...

; and an open economy. Furthermore, it was located on the border between the two major European civilisations, Latin

Latin Europe

Latin Europe is a loose term for the region of Europe with an especially strong Latin cultural heritage inherited from the Roman Empire.-Application:...

and Germanic

Germanic languages

The Germanic languages constitute a sub-branch of the Indo-European language family. The common ancestor of all of the languages in this branch is called Proto-Germanic , which was spoken in approximately the mid-1st millennium BC in Iron Age northern Europe...

, and was at the centre of the first post-war integration experiment: the Benelux

Benelux

The Benelux is an economic union in Western Europe comprising three neighbouring countries, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg. These countries are located in northwestern Europe between France and Germany...

. 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 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 a unanimous decision. Luxembourg fought to keep the ECSC or have compensation, France fought for Strasbourg and Italy, initially backing Paris, fought for any Italian city in order to thwart Luxembourg and Strasbourg. Meanwhile, Parliament passed a series of resolutions complaining about the whole situation of spreading itself across three cities, though unable to do anything about it.

Merger

The 1965 Merger Treaty

Merger Treaty

The Merger Treaty was a European treaty which combined the executive bodies of the European Coal and Steel Community , European Atomic Energy Community and the European Economic Community into a single institutional structure.The treaty was signed in Brussels on 8 April 1965 and came into force...

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 in the former with Luxembourg keeping the Court and Parliamentary Assembly, together with a few of the Commission's departments. This was largely welcomed but opposed by France, not wishing to see the Parliament leave Strasbourg, and by Parliament itself which wished to be with the executives and was further annoyed by the fact 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 the Council, but in April, June and October 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

Secretariat of the European Parliament

The secretariat of the European Parliament is the administrative body of the European Parliament headed by a Secretary-General. It is based in the Kirchberg district of Luxembourg and around the Brussels-Luxembourg Station in Brussels and employs 4000 officials.-Secretary-General:The Secretary...

. Strasbourg would continue to host Parliament. Joining the Commission was the merged Council secretariat. The ECSC secretariat merged with the EEC's and EAEC's in the Ravenstein building which then moved to the Charlemagne building

Charlemagne building

The Charlemagne building is a high-rise in the European Quarter of Brussels , which houses the Directorate-General for Trade and the Directorate General for Enlargement of the European Commission....

, next to the Berlaymont, in 1971.

In Brussels, staff continued to be spread across a number of buildings, on the Rue Belliardstraat, Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée/Blijde Inkomstlaan, Rue du Marais/Broekstraat and at Mont des Arts/Kunstberg. The first purpose-built building was the Berlaymont building

Berlaymont building

The Berlaymont is an office building in Brussels, Belgium that houses the headquarters of the European Commission, which is the executive of the European Union...

in 1958, designed to house 3000 officials which soon proved too small, causing 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 Brussels Metro

Brussels Metro

The Brussels Metro is a rapid transit system serving a large part of the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It consists of a network with four metro line services with some shared sections. The metro has 49.9 km of network and 59 stations...

: Schuman station

Schuman station

Schuman station is a railway and metro station in the City of Brussels. The metro station opened in 1969 and serves the European quarter of Brussels.-Metro:...

). However, these initial developments were sporadic with little town planning and based on speculation. (See: Brusselisation)

However, the 1965 agreement 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 the sole seat of the institutions. Things looked up for Brussels when Parliament gained its own plenary chamber in Brussels

Espace Léopold

The Espace Léopold or is the complex of parliament buildings in Brussels housing the European Parliament, a legislative chamber of the European Union ....

(on Rue Wiertzstraat) in 1985 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 under the name of an "international conference centre". When France unsuccessfully challenged Parliament's half-move to Brussels in the Court of Justice, Parliament's victory led it to build full facilities in Brussels.

Edinburgh and the European Council

In response the Edinburgh

Edinburgh

Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...

European Council

of 1992 adopted a final agreement on the location of the institutions. According to this decision, which was subsequently annexed to the Treaty of Amsterdam, although Parliament was 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.

Shortly before this summit, the Commission moved into the Breydel building

Breydel building

The Breydel building is an office block in the European Quarter of Brussels that served as a temporary headquarters for the European Commission between 1991 and 2004....

. This was due to asbestos

Asbestos

Asbestos is a set of six naturally occurring silicate minerals used commercially for their desirable physical properties. They all have in common their eponymous, asbestiform habit: long, thin fibrous crystals...

being discovered in the Berlaymont, forcing its evacuation in 1989. The Commission threatened to move out of the city, which would have destroyed Brussels's chances of hosting the Parliament, so the government stepped in to build the Breydel building a short distance from the Berlaymont in 23 months, ensuring the Commission could move in before the Edinburgh summit. Shortly after Edinburgh, 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 the institutions.

The Council, which had been expanding into further buildings as it grew, consolidated once more in the Justus Lipsius building

Justus Lipsius building

The Justus Lipsius building is a building in Brussels that has been the headquarters of the Council of the European Union since 1995. Unlike the European Parliament, visiting is restricted...

, and in 2002 it was agreed that the European Council

European Council

should also be based in Brussels, having previously moved between different cities as the EU's Presidency

Presidency of the Council of the European Union

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

Policing in Belgium

Law enforcement in Belgium is conducted by an integrated police service structured on the federal and local levels, made up of the Federal Police and the Local Police. Both forces are autonomous and subordinate to different authorities, but linked in regards to reciprocal support, recruitment,...

in dealing with protesters and the fixed facilities in Brussels.

Status

The Commission employs 25,000 people and the Parliament employs about 6000 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 the fact that Brussels enticed an increasing number of 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
De facto
De facto is a Latin expression that means "concerning fact." In law, it often means "in practice but not necessarily ordained by law" or "in practice or actuality, but not officially established." It is commonly used in contrast to de jure when referring to matters of law, governance, or...

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 (details below) as declaring Brussels as the capital.

There are two further cities hosting major institutions, Luxembourg

Luxembourg (city)

(judicial and second seats) and Strasbourg

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, Vice President of the United States

Vice President of the United States

The Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...

Joe Biden

Joseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...

, while speaking to the European Parliament, stated that Brussels, like Washington D.C. had its own claim to be capital of the free world.

Lobbyists and journalists

Like Washington D.C., Brussels is a centre of political activity with ambassadors to Belgium, NATO and the Union being based in the city; with there being 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 and there are 10,000 lobbyists registered.

Of the 1200 accredited journalist

Journalist

A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...

s in Brussels, 1000 are from outside Belgium, 120 of these are from Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

alone (compared to 20-30 in Washington D.C.) however there has been a disproportionately small representation of US press in Brussels, with very few newspapers having correspondents based in the city.

Accessibility

Brussels is located in the urban centre of Europe

Blue Banana

The Blue Banana is a discontinuous corridor of urbanisation in Western Europe, with a population of around 110 million. It stretches approximately from North West England in the north to Milan in the south...

, between Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, Rhine

Rhine-Ruhr

The Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region is the largest metropolitan region in Germany with about 10,100,000 inhabitants. It is of polycentric nature and the only megacity in Germany. It covers an area of 7,110 square kilometers and lies entirely within the federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia...

and Ruhr

Ruhr

The Ruhr is a medium-size river in western Germany , a right tributary of the Rhine.-Description:The source of the Ruhr is near the town of Winterberg in the mountainous Sauerland region, at an elevation of approximately 2,200 feet...

, and the Randstad

Randstad

Image:Randstad_with_scale.png|400px|thumb|right|Clickable schematic map of the Randstadcircle 528 380 26 Schipholrect 426 356 498 436 Haarlemmermeerrect 399 166 479 245 Velsencircle 250 716 32 Delftcircle 220 642 60 The Hague...

. Via high speed trains

High-speed rail in Europe

High-speed rail is emerging in Europe as an increasingly popular and efficient means of transport. The first high-speed rail lines in Europe, built in the 1980s and 1990s, improved travel times on intra-national corridors. Since then, several countries have built extensive high-speed networks,...

Brussels is around 1h25 from Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, 1h50 from London

London

, Amsterdam

Amsterdam

Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...

and Cologne

Cologne

Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

(with adjacent Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf

Düsseldorf is the capital city of the German state of North Rhine-Westphalia and centre of the Rhine-Ruhr metropolitan region.Düsseldorf is an important international business and financial centre and renowned for its fashion and trade fairs. Located centrally within the European Megalopolis, the...

and Rhine-Ruhr

Rhine-Ruhr

), 3h from Frankfurt

Frankfurt

Frankfurt am Main , commonly known simply as Frankfurt, is the largest city in the German state of Hesse and the fifth-largest city in Germany, with a 2010 population of 688,249. The urban area had an estimated population of 2,300,000 in 2010...

.

The "Eurocap-rail" project plans to improve Brussels' links to the south to Luxembourg city and Strasbourg

Strasbourg

. Brussels is also served by Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport

Brussels Airport is an international airport northeast of Brussels, Belgium. The airport is partially in Zaventem and partially in the Diegem area of Machelen, both located in the Flemish Region of Belgium.Brussels Airport currently consists of 54 contact gates, and a total of 109 gates...

, located in the nearby Flemish municipality of Zaventem

Zaventem

Zaventem is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the towns of Nossegem, Sint-Stevens-Woluwe, Sterrebeek and Zaventem proper. On January 1, 2006 Zaventem had a total population of 28,651...

, and by the smaller Brussels South Charleroi Airport, located near Charleroi

Charleroi

Charleroi is a city and a municipality of Wallonia, located in the province of Hainaut, Belgium. , the total population of Charleroi was 201,593. The metropolitan area, including the outer commuter zone, covers an area of and had a total population of 522,522 as of 1 January 2008, ranking it as...

(Wallonia), some 50 km (31.1 mi) from Brussels.

Quarter

Most of the institutions are located within the European Quarter of Brussels, which is the unofficial name of the area corresponding to the approximate triangle between Brussels Park, Cinquantenaire Park

Cinquantenaire

Parc du Cinquantenaire or Jubelpark is a large public, urban park in the easternmost part of the European Quarter in Brussels, Belgium....

and Leopold Park

Leopold Park

Parc Léopold or Leopoldspark is a public park located within the Leopold Quarter of Brussels, adjacent to the Paul-Henri Spaak building, the seat of the European Parliament....

(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

Schuman station

Schuman station is a railway and metro station in the City of Brussels. The metro station opened in 1969 and serves the European quarter of Brussels.-Metro:...

at the Schuman roundabout

Schuman roundabout

Schuman Roundabout , or Schuman Square, is a roundabout at the end of Rue de la Loi in Brussels that serves as a focus for major institutions of the European Union ....

on the Rue de la Loi. The European Parliament is located over the Brussels-Luxembourg station

Brussels-Luxembourg Station

Brussels-Luxembourg railway station is a station in the European Quarter of Brussels under the Esplanade of the European Parliament .-History:...

, next to Luxembourg Square

Luxembourg Square

The Place du Luxembourg or Luxemburgplein is a square in the European Quarter of Brussels .-Design:The square consists largely of restaurants and bars which dominate the wide pavements, with some banks and other retail services, serving the employees and members of the neighbouring European...

.
The area, a portion of which was known as the Leopold Quarter

Leopold Quarter

The Leopold Quarter is a quarter of Brussels, Belgium. Today the term is sometimes confused with European Quarter, as the area has come to be dominated by the institutions of the European Union and organisations dealing with them, although the two terms are not in fact the same, with the Leopold...

for much 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 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 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 architecture competitions and a master plan (see "future" below).

The quarter itself is highly centralised and criticised by some, for example Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi

Romano Prodi is an Italian politician and statesman. He served as the Prime Minister of Italy, from 17 May 1996 to 21 October 1998 and from 17 May 2006 to 8 May 2008...

, for being an administrative ghetto

Ghetto

A ghetto is a section of a city predominantly occupied by a group who live there, especially because of social, economic, or legal issues.The term was originally used in Venice to describe the area where Jews were compelled to live. The term now refers to an overcrowded urban area often associated...

isolated from 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 Rem Koolhaas

Rem Koolhaas

Remment Lucas Koolhaas is a Dutch architect, architectural theorist, urbanist and "Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design" at the Graduate School of Design at Harvard University, USA. Koolhaas studied at the Netherlands Film and Television Academy in Amsterdam, at the Architectural...

proposing that Brussels needs an architectural symbol to represent Europe (akin to the Eiffel Tower

Eiffel Tower

The Eiffel Tower is a puddle iron lattice tower located on the Champ de Mars in Paris. Built in 1889, it has become both a global icon of France and one of the most recognizable structures in the world...

or Colosseum

Colosseum

The Colosseum, or the Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre , is an elliptical amphitheatre in the centre of the city of Rome, Italy, the largest ever built in the Roman Empire...

). Others do not think this is in keeping with the idea of the EU, with Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco

Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...

viewing Brussels as a "soft capital"; rather than it being an "imperial city" of an empire

Empire

The term empire derives from the Latin imperium . Politically, an empire is a geographically extensive group of states and peoples united and ruled either by a monarch or an oligarchy....

, it should reflect the EU's position as the "server

Server (computing)

In the context of client-server architecture, a server is a computer program running to serve the requests of other programs, the "clients". Thus, the "server" performs some computational task on behalf of "clients"...

" of Europe. Despite this, the plans for redevelopment intend to deal with a certain extent of visual identity in the quarter.

Commission buildings

The most iconic structure is the Berlaymont

Berlaymont building

The Berlaymont is an office building in Brussels, Belgium that houses the headquarters of the European Commission, which is the executive of the European Union...

, 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

Lucien de Vestel

Lucien de Vestel was a Belgian architect known for designing the Berlaymont in Brussels.He was a modernist who did a lot of work in the interwar period in rebuilding housing and apartment blocks were great expertise was needed for textures and colours...

, 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 the UNESCO

UNESCO

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...

headquarters building in Paris

Paris

Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, 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.

The president of the Commission

European 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 building

Charlemagne building

The Charlemagne building is a high-rise in the European Quarter of Brussels , which houses the Directorate-General for Trade and the Directorate General for Enlargement of the European Commission....

s 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

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

Evere

Evere is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. On January 1, 2006 the municipality had a total population of 33,462...

(see below).

Other institutions

Across the Rue de la Loi from the Berlayont is the Justus Lipsius building

Justus Lipsius building

The Justus Lipsius building is a building in Brussels that has been the headquarters of the Council of the European Union since 1995. Unlike the European Parliament, visiting is restricted...

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. From 2013, the European Council will move info Résidence Palace

Résidence Palace

The Résidence Palace is a complex of buildings between the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and the Chaussée d'Etterbeek/Etterbeeksesteenweg in the European Quarter of Brussels...

next door once it has been renovated and the Lex building

Lex building

The Lex building is a high-rise of government offices in the European Quarter of Brussels . It is an annex building of the Council of the European Union and is located at Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat 145....

beyond that was occupied by the Council in 2007.
The Parliament's buildings, known as Espace Léopold

Espace Léopold

The Espace Léopold or is the complex of parliament buildings in Brussels housing the European Parliament, a legislative chamber of the European Union ....

, are located to the south between Leopold Park and Luxembourg Square, over Brussels-Luxembourg Station

Brussels-Luxembourg Station

Brussels-Luxembourg railway station is a station in the European Quarter of Brussels under the Esplanade of the European Parliament .-History:...

which is underground. The complex, known as the "Espace Léopold" (or "Leopoldsruimte" in Dutch

Dutch language

Dutch is a West Germanic language and the native language of the majority of the population of the Netherlands, Belgium, and Suriname, the three member states of the Dutch Language Union. Most speakers live in the European Union, where it is a first language for about 23 million and a second...

), 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. 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.

The European External Action Service

European External Action Service

The European External Action Service is a European Union department that was established following the entry into force of the Treaty of Lisbon on 1 December 2009...

, being set up throughout 2010, is to be based in the Triangle building from 1 December 2010. It will be located on Schuman roundabout opposite the Council building and the Berlaymont.

The Economic and Social Committee

Economic and Social Committee

The European Economic and Social Committee is a body of the European Union established in 1958. It is a consultative assembly composed of employers , employees and representatives of various other interests...

and the Committee of the Regions

Committee of the Regions

The Committee of the Regions is European Union's assembly of local and regional representatives that provides sub-national authorities with a direct voice within the EU's institutional framework....

together occupy the Delors building

Delors building

The Delors building located in the European Quarter of Brussels and houses the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. It was named Delors in 2006 after President Jacques Delors, who was the principal founder behind the Committee of the Regions and the most...

, which is next to Leopold Park and used to be occupied by the Parliament. They also use the office building Bertha von Suttner

Bertha von Suttner

Bertha Felicitas Sophie Freifrau von Suttner was an Austrian novelist, radical pacifist, and the first woman to be a Nobel Peace Prize laureate.-Biography:Suttner was born in Prague, Bohemia, the daughter of an impoverished Austrian Field Marshal,...

. Both buildings were named in 2006. Brussels also hosts two agencies, the European Defence Agency

European Defence Agency

The European Defence Agency is an agency of the European Union based in Brussels. It is a Common Foreign and Security Policy body set up on 12 July 2004, reporting to the Council of the European Union. All EU member states, except Denmark which has an opt-out of the CFSP, take part in the 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

Air traffic control

Air traffic control is a service provided by ground-based controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and in the air. The primary purpose of ATC systems worldwide is to separate aircraft to prevent collisions, to organize and expedite the flow of traffic, and to provide information and other...

agency covering much of Europe and the Western European Union

Western European Union

The Western European Union was an international organisation tasked with implementing the Modified Treaty of Brussels , an amended version of the original 1948 Treaty of Brussels...

which is a non-EU military organisation which is merging into the EU's CFSP.

Demography and economic impact

The EU presence in Brussels has created significant social and economic impact. Jean-Luc Vanraes, member of the Brussel 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 the city due to the EU presence. In total about 10% of the city has a connection to the international community.

46% of the population of Brussels are from outside Belgium; of these, half are from other EU member states. About 3/5 of European Civil Servants

European Civil Service

The European Civil Service is the civil service serving the institutions of the European Union, of which the largest employer is the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union...

live in the Brussels Capital Region with 63% in the communes around the European district (24% in the Flemish region to the north and 11% in the Walloon region to the south). Half of civil servants are home owners. 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 €

Euro

The euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...

2 billion a year) and 2000 foreign companies drawn into the city employ 80,000 multilingual locals.

In Brussels, there are 3.5 million square meters 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

Leopold Quarter

. Running costs of the EU institutions total €2 billion a year, half of which benefit Brussels directly, and a further €0.8 come from the expenses of diplomats, journalists etc. Business tourism

Convention (meeting)

A convention, in the sense of a meeting, is a gathering of individuals who meet at an arranged place and time in order to discuss or engage in some common interest. The most common conventions are based upon industry, profession, and fandom...

in the city generates 2.2 million annual hotel room

Hotel Room

Hotel Room is a three episode 1993 HBO television series produced by David Lynch . Each drama takes place in the same New York City hotel room at different times .Barry Gifford wrote, and David Lynch directed, the first and third episodes; Jay McInerney wrote, and James Signorelli...

nights. There are thirty international school

International school

An International school is loosely defined as a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting an international curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national...

s (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 the EU quarter (a "white collar

White-collar worker

The term white-collar worker refers to a person who performs professional, managerial, or administrative work, in contrast with a blue-collar worker, whose job requires manual labor...

ghetto

Ghetto

"). The communities often do not mix much, with expats having their own society. This is in part down to that many expat in Brussels stay for short periods only and do not always learn the local languages (supplanted by English

English language

English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...

/Globish

Globish (Nerriere)

Globish is a subset of the English language formalized by Jean-Paul Nerriere. It uses a subset of standard English grammar, and a list of 1500 English words...

), remaining in expat communities and sending their children to European schools

European School

The European Schools are co-educational schools providing nursery, primary and secondary. They are established to provide free education for children of personnel of the European Institutions and leading to the European Baccalaureate. Other children may be admitted subject to the availability of...

, rather than local Belgian ones.

Rebuilding

In September 2007, the Commissioner for Administrative Affairs Siim Kallas

Siim Kallas

Siim Kallas is an Estonian politician, currently serving as European Commissioner for Transport. He is also one of five vice-presidents of the 27-member Barroso Commission...

, together with Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region

Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region

The Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region is the person leading the Government of the Brussels-Capital Region. The post is appointed for 5 years along with 4 ministers and 3 "state" secretaries...

Charles Picqué

Charles Picqué is a Belgian, French-speaking politician. He is currently serving his second term as Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region....

, 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.

In March 2009, a French-Belgian-British team led by French architect Christian de Portzamparc won a competition to redesign the Wetstraat/Rue de la Loi between Maalbeek/Maelbeek Garden and Residence 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, and be returned to two way traffic (rather than all west-bound) and 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 'flag ship' high rises at the east end on the north side. Charles Picqué described the towers as "iconic buildings that will be among the highest in Brussels" and that "building higher allows you to turn closed blocks into open spaces." The tallest buildings will be up to 80 metres high, though most between 16 and 55, but the higher the building the further back it will be set from the road. 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. A sixth European School

European School

may also be built. On the western edge of the quarter, on the small ring

Small ring (Brussels)

The Brussels small ring or inner ring road is a series of roadways in central Brussels, Belgium, surrounding the historic city centre. It was built on the site of the Second walls of Brussels, built in the 16th century, after they were torn down....

, there would be "gates to Europe" to add visual impact.

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

Carbon footprint

A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.". However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is...

would be "an integral part of the programme". 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

President of the European Commission

The President of the European Commission is the head of the European Commission ― the executive branch of the :European Union ― the most powerful officeholder in the EU. The President is responsible for allocating portfolios to members of the Commission and can reshuffle or dismiss them if needed...

José Manuel Barroso who desires a "space reflecting the history of the European project". Parliament President

President of the European Parliament

The President of the European Parliament presides over the debates and activities of the European Parliament. He or she also represents the Parliament within the EU and internationally. The President's signature is required for enacting most EU laws and the EU budget.Presidents serve...

Hans-Gert Pöttering

Hans-Gert Pöttering is a German conservative politician , and was the President of the European Parliament from January 2007 to July 2009...

wishes to use the Eastman Building, next to Leopold Park

Leopold Park

Parc Léopold or Leopoldspark is a public park located within the Leopold Quarter of Brussels, adjacent to the Paul-Henri Spaak building, the seat of the European Parliament....

, as a House of Contemporary European History but has not yet won the backing of MEPs.

Pedestrian squares

There are also plans to pedestrianise of part of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat next to the Berlaymont. A new Place Schumanplein (currently the Schuman roundabout) would be one of three new pedestrian squares. Schuman would focus on "policy and politics" and Schuman station

Schuman station

Schuman station is a railway and metro station in the City of Brussels. The metro station opened in 1969 and serves the European quarter of Brussels.-Metro:...

itself will be redesigned. Coverings over nearby motorways and railways would be extended to shield them from view.

A pedestrian and visual link would be created between the Berlaymont and Leopold park by demolishing sections of the ground to fourth floors of Justus Lipsius, the south "bland" façade 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

Leopold Park

Parc Léopold or Leopoldspark is a public park located within the Leopold Quarter of Brussels, adjacent to the Paul-Henri Spaak building, the seat of the European Parliament....

, the block of buildings between Rue d’Arlon/Aarlenstraat and Rue de Trêves/Trierstraat would be removed, creating a broad boulevard-like extension of Luxembourg Square

Luxembourg Square

, the second pedestrian square (focusing on citizens).

The third pedestrian square would be the "Esplanade du Cinquantenaire" or "Esplanade van het Jubelpark" (for events and festivities). Wider development may also surround Cinquantenaire Park

Cinquantenaire

Parc du Cinquantenaire or Jubelpark is a large public, urban park in the easternmost part of the European Quarter in Brussels, Belgium....

with plans for a new metro station

Brussels Metro

, underground car park and the Europeanisation of part of the Cinquantenaire complex with a "socio-cultural facility". It is possible that the European Council

European Council

may have to move to this area from Résidence Palace

Résidence Palace

The Résidence Palace is a complex of buildings between the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat and the Chaussée d'Etterbeek/Etterbeeksesteenweg in the European Quarter of Brussels...

for security reasons.

Further quarters

The concentration of offices in the main 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 the city to areas such as avenue de Beaulieulaan ^{(50.81425°N 4.4122°E)} in Auderghem

Auderghem

Auderghem or Oudergem is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium....

and rue de Genèvestraat ^{(50.864°N 4.4033°E)} in Evere

Evere

Evere is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. On January 1, 2006 the municipality had a total population of 33,462...

. This has reduced price increases but it is still one of the most expensive areas in the city (€

Euro

295 per square metre, compared to €196 per on average). Neither Parliament or the Council have followed suit however and the policy of decentralisation is unpopular among the Commission's staff.

Nevertheless, the Commission intends to develop two or three large "poles" outside the quarter, each greater than 100,000m². Heysel Park

Heysel Park

The Heysel Exhibition Park is the place in the north of the centre of Brussels, Belgium, where the Brussels International Exposition and the Expo '58 took place....

^{(50.8949°N 4.3415°E)} has been proposed as one of the new polls by the City of Brussels

City of Brussels

The City of Brussels is the largest municipality of the Brussels-Capital Region, and the official capital of Belgium by law....

, which intends to develop the area as an international district regardless. The park, built around the Atomium

Atomium

The Atomium is a monument in Brussels, originally built for Expo '58, the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. Designed by André Waterkeyn, it stands 102 metres tall...

landmark, already hosts a European School

European School

, has the largest parking facilities in Belgium, a metro station, an exhibition hall and the 'Mini-Europe

Mini-Europe

-See also:* Madurodam — Model village in Netherlands containing miniature famous Dutch landmarks* Catalunya en Miniatura — miniature park located 17 km away from Barcelona, with an exhibition area of 35.000 m2 including all major buildings of Catalonia and of Antoni Gaudí* Bekonscot...

' 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 poll, which is to the south east of the main European quarter, there is a proposal to link it with the main quarter by covering the railway lines between Beaulieu and the European Parliament (the esplanade

Esplanade of the European Parliament

The Esplanade of the European Parliament, or simply the mall, is a pedestrian mall in Brussels , completed in 2002.-Position:...

of which sits on top of the Brussels-Luxembourg railway 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 Parliament's esplanade, to create a pedestrian/cyclist path between the two districts. The plan proposes that this "promenade of Europeans" of 3720 metres be divided into areas dedicated to each of the member states

Member State of the European Union

A member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...

Political status

In 2007, problems in forming a government because of different opinions concerning a state reform increased support for the independence of Flanders

Flemish movement

The Flemish Movement is a popular term used to describe the political movement for emancipation and greater autonomy of the Belgian region of Flanders, for protection of the Dutch language, and for the over-all protection of Flemish culture and history....

by Flemish independentalists from Belgium. Belgium currently operates a complex federal system between Flanders

Flanders

Flanders is the community of the Flemings but also one of the institutions in Belgium, and a geographical region located in parts of present-day Belgium, France and the Netherlands. "Flanders" can also refer to the northern part of Belgium that contains Brussels, Bruges, Ghent and Antwerp...

(Dutch

Dutch language

speaking) and Wallonia (French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

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

Australian Capital Territory

The Australian Capital Territory, often abbreviated ACT, is the capital territory of the Commonwealth of Australia and is the smallest self-governing internal territory...

, run by the EU rather than Flanders or Wallonia. However, unlike these it would also be likely that Brussels itself would be an EU member state. The possible status of Brussels as a "city state" has also been suggested by Charles Picqué

Charles Picqué

Charles Picqué is a Belgian, French-speaking politician. He is currently serving his second term as Minister-President of the Brussels Capital-Region....

, Minister-President

Minister-President of the Brussels-Capital Region

of the Brussels-Capital Region, who sees a tax on the EU institutions

Institutions of the European Union

as a way of enriching the city. However, the Belgian issue has very little discussion within the EU bodies.

It may also be supported by the political territory of the city extending into bordering municipalities

Municipalities of Belgium

Belgium comprises 589 municipalities grouped into five provinces in each of two regions and into a third region, the Brussels-Capital Region, comprising 19 municipalities that do not belong to a province...

in Flemish Brabant

Flemish Brabant

Flemish Brabant is a province of Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. It borders on the Belgian provinces of Antwerp, Limburg, Liège, Walloon Brabant, Hainaut and East Flanders. Flemish Brabant also completely surrounds the Brussels-Capital Region. Its capital is Leuven...

and Walloon Brabant

Walloon Brabant

Walloon Brabant is a province of Wallonia in Belgium. It borders on the province of Flemish Brabant and the provinces of Liège, Namur and Hainaut . Its capital is Wavre...

; 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

Brussels Airport

and forest

Sonian Forest

The Sonian Forest is a forest that lies across the south-eastern part of Brussels, Belgium.The forest lies in the Flemish municipalities of Sint-Genesius-Rode, Hoeilaart, Overijse and Tervuren, in Uccle, Watermael-Boitsfort, Auderghem and Woluwe-Saint-Pierre in the Brussels-Capital Region and in...

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.
This is not seen as an acceptable option for a lot of Flemish people. This theory is more popular in Wallonia than in Flanders.

External links

European Quarter on Wikimapia Le Plan de Développement International de Bruxelles bruxelles.irisnet.be or brussel.irisnet.be: Future plans for the European Quarter, Brussels-Capital Region
Google Maps, Robert Schuman
Map of the EU area
Brussels International Brussels Tourism
Visit the European Parliament Parliament D4 & D5 buildings
Gallery of the EU Quarter
The Brussels-Europe Liaison Office, a body charged to promote Brussels as Europe's capital
- Statistics on the EU presence in Brussels, Brussels-Europe Liaison Office
Foundation for the Urban Environment

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