- Charlemagne building
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Charlemagne General information Type Offices Location Brussels, Belgium Coordinates 50°50′37″N 4°22′49″E / 50.84365°N 4.38031°ECoordinates: 50°50′37″N 4°22′49″E / 50.84365°N 4.38031°E Construction started 1967 Technical details Floor count 15 Design and construction Owner European Commission Architect Jacques Cuisinier Other information Number of rooms 3 conference rooms The Charlemagne building is a high-rise in the European Quarter of Brussels (Belgium), which houses the Directorate-General for Trade and the Directorate General for Enlargement of the European Commission.
The building has 3 wings and 15 floors. It is located at 170 Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, in the City of Brussels, one of the 19 municipalities forming the Brussels-Capital Region. The postal code for the municipality is 1000, but the postal code for the European Commission is 1049.
History
The building was designed by Jacques Cuisinier and constructed in 1967 at the same time as the Berlaymont Building to group together more scattered departments of the European Commission. However, with the Commission refusing to share the Berlaymont with the Council of the European Union, Charlemagne was given to the Council's secretariat in 1971. This had previously been located in the city centre.[1]
The Council moved out to the Justus Lipsius building in 1995 allowing it to be renovated. The renovation was completed in 1998 by Helmut Jahn, replacing the largely concrete exterior with a glass one. After the restoration it was occupied by the Commission, further grouping the Union's offices around the Schuman roundabout.[1]
It was briefly considered as the future HQ of the European External Action Service, established in 2010, but was discounted on image grounds; as it houses RELEX, people would see the EEAS as a RELEX-plus rather than a unique body outside of the Commission.[2]
See also
- Brussels and the European Union
- Berlaymont building
- Madou Plaza Tower
- Justus Lipsius building
- lex building
References
- ^ a b European Commission Publication: Europe in Brussels, 2007.
- ^ http://euobserver.com/9/30847
Administration of the European Commission Table of European Commission Directorates-General and Services Civil Service Policy DGs Agriculture · Climate Action · Competition · Economic and Financial Affairs · Education and Culture · Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities · Enterprise and Industry · Environment · Fisheries and Maritime Affairs · Health and Consumers · Home Affairs · Information Society and Media · Internal Market and Services · Joint Research Centre · Justice · Regional Policy · Research · Taxation and Customs Union · Mobility and Transport · EnergyExternal DGs Foreign Policy Instruments Service · Enlargement · Trade · EuropeAid Development and Cooperation · Humanitarian Aid OfficeGeneral Services Internal Services Buildings European Union Portal · Brussels Portal Categories:- Buildings and structures completed in 1967
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