Brussels, 05/09/2007 (Agence Europe) - On Wednesday 5 September, the Brussels-Capital Region and the European Commission announced agreement on the broad lines of the “new master plan” for giving a face-lift to the European Quarter in Brussels, where the offices of the European institutions are located. The Commission's main aim is to have new offices at its disposal for additional officials, while the Brussels-Capital Region intends to retain and make the European Quarter a truly mixed neighbourhood (economic and international area, residential area and a cultural and recreation centre). The joint Commission and Brussels-Capital Region programme can be summarised in two key figures: 44,000 m² of offices for the European Commission, on both sides of rue de la Loi, and around 180,000 m² for housing throughout the European Quarter.
At the end of June 2007, the Commission occupied some 865,000 m² in Brussels, spread over 61 buildings where 22,000 employees (officials and contract agents) were located. Commission offices are largely to be found on three separate sites: - the European Quarter (710,000 m² housing 19,000 members of staff) - the Beaulieu area (80,000 m² with 2,000 staff); - and the area around the rues Genève and Da Vinci (56,500 m² and 1,250 staff). In a communication on its policy for locating its staff in Brussels and Luxembourg, adopted on the same day, the Commission confirmed its desire to follow a “multipolar” approach: making the European Quarter the main Commission site, alongside the development of a maximum of three major areas outside this Quarter.
At a press conference, European Administrative Affairs Commissioner Siim Kallas highlighted the importance of “reinforcing and rationalising” the existing approach: long-term planning of accommodation needs (to avoid the ad hoc purchase of properties and leasing buildings) and improving procedures for the purchase and leasing of buildings (using competition to advantage by putting out real estate tenders). He said that the Commission and the Brussels-Capital Region had agreed on the development of the European Quarter, an area which must not be allowed to become an “administrative ghetto”, but one which should retain its “human face”, with housing and shops.
Brussels-Capital Region Prime Minister Charles Picqué welcomed the “climate of trust” which had reigned during the drawing up of the master plan for the European Quarter. He said that the Region wanted to take account of the following Commission wishes: - rationalising the number of sites; - having buildings of a certain size (50,000 m² not too far one from the other); - making the buildings part of the fabric of the town. An area bounded by the “petite ceinture” (inside ring road), the Maalbeek Garden and rue Joseph II was decided on. Mr Piqué said that the advantage of this area was that there were already lots of Commission buildings (around the rue de la Loi).
He gave details: rationalisation of the building stock around the rue de la Loi (between the small ring road and the chaussée d'Etterbeek) with a total of 490,000 m² floor space, 170,000 m² of which will be occupied by the Commission. The Commission hoped to add on 230,000 m² (which it owns or leases) in other parts of the European Quarter. “The idea is not to increase the concentration of offices throughout the Quarter, but to rationalise where they are located.” In addition, a certain number of organisational principles for the Quarter were enacted by the Commission and the Brussels-Capital Region, including: - the creation of housing to the south of the rue de la Loi; - the creation of shopping outlets; - the possibility of having through traffic passing below the rue de la Loi, which would allow the street to become a local street with traffic in both directions once again (there will have to be a feasibility study carried out).
Finally, a programme for sharing space has been proposed: 710,000 m² of offices, with 400,000 for the European Commission.
No Brussels DC
Answering press questions, Mr Picqué said that the Brussels Region was in negotiations with the other institutions (European Parliament and Council of Ministers) “so as to incorporate all the needs of the European institutions into a coherent urban plan”. He was against the idea of making Brussels a European district similar to Washington DC (this suggestion is often raised in a country where political crisis has reigned for almost three months, feeding the fears of separation between Flemings and Walloons). “I have always felt that it was for the people of Brussels to determine the destiny of their town. In the upheaval in the country, Brussels must show itself to be an international city and a strong link in a federal Belgium,” he said. (lc)