Brussels and the European Union

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The Parliament's Paul-Henri Spaak building, as seen from Justus Lipsius

Brussels (Belgium) is considered to be the de facto capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting the institutions of the European Union. However it is important to note that the EU has no official capital with no plans to declare one. The city houses the seats of the three major political institutions; Commission, Council and Parliament. See also: Location of European Union institutions

1 History
2 European quarter
3 Centre of activity
4 Bodies located in Brussels
- 4.1 Treaty institutions
- 4.2 Other bodies and agencies
5 References
6 See also

[edit] History

Brussels history with the Union started in 1965 when the merger treaty combined the executives of the three communities, whereupon the new Commission of the European Communities was based in Brussels^[1] on the Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée. Previously leaders could not agree on a seat and Luxembourg had been chosen as the provisional seat.

The Merger Treaty^[2] also based the Council in Brussels (except in April, June and October), along with the Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions. It was also decided that the Parliament would hold its committees and additional plenary sessions in the Belgian capital.

These decisions were reaffirmed by the Edinburgh European Council^[3] (12 December 1992) and have been enshrined in all treaties since, including the proposed European Constitution.

[edit] European quarter

Most of the institutions are located within the EU district, or quarter, of Brussels, the unofficial name of a triangular area between the Parc de Bruxelles, Parc du Cinquantenaire and Parc Léopold (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 metro station at the Round-Point Schuman on the Rue de la Loi. See Google Maps, Robert Schuman.

The most iconic structure is of course the Berlaymont, housing the Commission. It was the first building to be constructed for the Community. It was originally built in the 1960s, designed by Lucien De Vestel, and completely refurbished in the 1990s to remove asbestos. After a period of exile in the Breydel building on the Avenue d'Auderghem (incidentally the only building the Commission actually owns), the Commission reoccupied the Berlaymont in 2005. The president of the Barroso Commission occupies the largest office, on the 13th floor. Across the Rue de la Loi is the Justus Lipsius building which houses the Council of the European Union.

Schuman Metro Station

The Commission's Berlaymont building

The Roi de la Loi, Council (left) and Commission (right).

The Parliament viewed from Parc Leopold

The Commission use two other major buildings, the Charlemagne building and Madou tower, both of which are of modern design like the Berlaymont. Charlemagne contains certain departments such as enlargement, interpreting and trade in addition to a number of advisers. The Commission moved into Madou in 2006 after it was renovated the previous year, it houses the Directorate-Generals for Communication, and Informatics in addition to the Intelligent Energy Executive Agency.

The buildings of the European Parliament are located to the south between Parc Leopold and Place du Luxembourg, over Luxembourg railway station which is underground. There are two main buildings, Paul-Henri Spaak and Altiero Spinelli, covering 372,000 m² known by locals as the “Caprice des Dieux” (whim of the gods). The former holds the hemicycle and juts out from the complex into Parc Leopold. The Parliament is currently being extended towards the Place du Luxembourg, which will finish by 2008.

[edit] Centre of activity

A new press room in Brussels.

Like Washington D.C. Brussels is a centre of political activity with ambassadors to Belgium, NATO and the Union meaning there are more ambassadors based in the city than in the US capital. There's also a greater number of press corps in Brussels with media outlets in every Union member-state having a Brussels correspondent and there are 10,000 lobbyists registered. The Commission employs 25,000^[4] people and the Parliament employs about 5000 people^[5].

Because of this concentration Brussels is the preferred city for any move towards a single seat for all institutions, namely the Parliament, and there is an active campaign to establish this. See: Location of European Union institutions.

[edit] Bodies located in Brussels

[edit] Treaty institutions

European Commission - Headquarters housed in the Berlaymont building on the Rue de la Loi.
Council of the European Union - Headquarters housed in the Justus Lipsius building on the Rue de la Loi.
European Parliament - Second seat, committee rooms and offices located next to Parc Léopold.

[edit] Other bodies and agencies

Committees' building

European Council - Nearly all summits are held in the city but is not the exclusive seat.
Committee of the Regions - An advisory body located next to the Parliament in the Delors building.
Economic and Social Committee - An advisory body located next to the Parliament in the Delors building.
European Defence Agency
EUROCONTROL - Air traffic control agency covering much of Europe.
Intelligent Energy Executive Agency - A tempory agency located in Madou tower.
Western European Union - A non-EU organisation, but merging into the EU.

[edit] References

^ European Navigator enu.lu
^ Merger Treaty protocoleur-lex.europa.eu
^ European Council in Edinburgh europarl.europa.eu
^ All above figures from E!Sharp magazine, Jan-Feb 2007 issue: Article "A tale of two cities".
^ Parliament's website europarl.europa.eu