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Neighbourhood in Brussels, Belgium
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The European Quarter (French: Quartier européen; Dutch: Europese Wijk) of Brussels, Belgium, is the informal geographical area occupied by the institutions of the European Union and their related activities. Primarily located in the eastern spur of the City of Brussels, it overlaps with several historical districts. Its boundaries are fluid and constantly evolving, reflecting the EU's property policy.
European Quarter
| |
|---|---|
 Aerial view of Brussels' European Quarter | |
| Country | Belgium |
| Region | Brussels-Capital Region |
| Arrondissement | Brussels-Capital |
| Municipality | |
| Time zone | UTC+1 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2 (CEST) |
| Postal code | 1000, 1040, 1050, 1210 |
| Area codes | 02 |
The European Quarter began to take shape from 1958, with the rental of a building at 51–53, rue Belliard/Belliardstraat, followed by the development of the first building specifically intended to house what would become the European Commission, on the Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée/Blijde Inkomstlaan.[1]
At the beginning of the 21st century, the European Quarter occupies almost entirely the Schuman district, as well as a large part of the Leopold Quarter. The area roughly forms a triangle between Brussels Park, Cinquantenaire Park and Leopold Park (with the European Parliament's hemicycle extending into the latter). Its continuous territory encroaches on the Squares Quarter and part of the neighbouring municipalities of Etterbeek, Ixelles and Saint-Josse-ten-Noode. It also has branches in Auderghem and Evere.
The European Commission and European Council are located on either side of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, near Schuman railway station and the Robert Schuman Roundabout, at the heart of this area. The European Parliament is located above Brussels-Luxembourg railway station, next to the Place du Luxembourg/Luxemburgplein.[2]
History
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 European institutions moved in from the late 1950s, 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 institutions.[3]
From 1958, the services of the Commission of the European Economic Community (EEC) were grouped together on the Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée/Blijde Inkomstlaan, a complex which was built in several phases from 1957 to 1963.[4] While waiting for this building's completion, the European administration 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, 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][5]
By 1965, the EEC Commission alone had 3,200 staff scattered across eight different cramped buildings, on the Rue Belliard, the Avenue de la Joyeuse Entrée, the Rue du Marais and at the Mont des Arts. The situation, which (due to the lack of large office blocks) began as soon as they arrived, became critical, and the EEC Commission tried to concentrate its staff in a number of rented buildings around the Robert Schuman Roundabout. The first purpose-built building was the Berlaymont building in 1963–1969, designed to house 3,000 officials, which soon proved too small, causing the institution to spread out across the neighbourhood. However, these initial developments were sporadic with little town planning and based on speculation (see Brusselisation).
Buildings
Commission buildings
The most iconic structure is the Berlaymont building, the primary seat of the European Commission. It was the first building to be constructed for the Community, originally built in the 1960s. It was designed by Lucien De Vestel, Jean Gilson, André Polak and Jean Polak and paid for by the Belgian Government (who could occupy it if the Commission left Brussels). It was inspired by 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 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 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 m2 (9,310,783 sq ft) in 61 buildings with the Berlaymont and Charlemagne buildings the only ones over 50,000 m2 (538,196 sq ft).
The Berlaymont building, primary headquarters of the European Commission
The Charlemagne building, the Commission's second largest building, housing DG TRADE, DG ECFIN and the Internal Audit Service
Councils buildings
Across the Rue de la Loi from the Berlaymont is the Europa building, which the Council of the European Union and the European Council have used as their headquarters since the beginning of 2017.[6] 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.[6] The renovation and construction of 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.[7] 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."[7]
The Europa building, seat of the European Council and the Council of the European Union
The Justus Lipsius building is still used for low-level meetings and to house the Council's Secretariat.
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Parliament buildings
The European Parliament's buildings are located to the south between Leopold Park and the Place du Luxembourg, over Brussels-Luxembourg railway 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 m2 (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, 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.[8] 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.
The Espace Léopold buildings, housing the European Parliament
The Paul-Henri Spaak building
The Altiero Spinelli building
Other institutions
The European External Action Service (EEAS) has been based in 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.[9][10]
Brussels also hosts two additional EU agencies: 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 is headquartered in Haren, on the north-eastern perimeter of the City of Brussels.
Map
Place JourdanPalmerston
Square
Ambiorix
Marguerite
Frère Orban
de Meeûs
Avenue Cortenbergh
Rue du Luxembourg
Rue Froissart
Rail Station
