On the sidelines of the NATO mini-summit in Brussels, on 25 May, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg officially received the keys to the new Atlantic Alliance headquarters from the King of Belgium.
The new premises “mark the beginning of a new chapter”, Stoltenberg was pleased to announce, adding that it was a “21st century headquarters for a 21st century alliance”.
The new headquarters, located opposite the current building that has housed NATO since 1967, covers over 254,000 square meters and has eight wings. Symbolic of intertwined fingers and solidarity among its members, it can house 1,500 members of the allied delegations, 1,700 international military and civilian personnel, and 800 persons from NATO agencies. In addition to the many offices, the building also has a swimming pool, shops, a gymnasium, banks and a hairdresser.
When it comes to security, the premises are equipped with 1,500 surveillance cameras and over 100 members of staff are permanently tasked with ensuring the security of the headquarters. The United States, France, the United Kingdom and Canada have also called on their own companies to fit out their parts of the premises, rather than calling on the consortium that built the headquarters.
Although part of the personnel is already in the new buildings, the official move will not take place until December. Work is still being carried out on the IT network.
There has been considerable polemic over construction of the new premises. Although it had been decided to build a new headquarters in 1999, the first stone was not laid until 2010. Also, construction work, which was to last five years, extended beyond that timeframe. The headquarters has, moreover, cost three times the amount foreseen, i.e. €1.12 billion instead of the €460 million stated in the tender. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)