Berlaymont back in business as EU agrees to foot Euro 553m bill

Date: 24/10/02

By David Cronin

MORE than 11 years after the European Commission left its old Berlaymont headquarters, it has finally reached a deal enabling it to move back in.

Under an accord signed yesterday (23 October) by Neil Kinnock, the Commission's vice-president, and Rik Daems, Belgium's public works minister, the EU executive will pay €553 million for the mammoth structure on Brussels Rond Pont Schuman. The 242,000 square metre building was vacated in 1991 over concerns that asbestos used in its construction posed a health hazard.

Speaking to journalists, Daems conceded there was a widespread belief among those who have followed the Berlaymont saga that a date for the Belgian state to hand it over to the Commission by the end of next year will not be met.

But he said that the agreement with Kinnock will give 'stability to the whole process'.

Daems admitted the renovation has been plagued with delays, partly because stripping the building of asbestos had taken longer than originally forecast.

Yet he insisted the current Belgian 'rainbow government' has shown resolve in tackling the problems besetting the Berlaymont.

It has, for example, ordered an audit into the project after concerns were raised about possible malpractice by some of those working on it.

The deal will involve the Commission paying €32 million per year - about €4 million below what the Belgians currently pay in rent for 11 'substitution' buildings occupied by the Commission.

Around €503 million of the Commission's payment will cover its share of the renovation costs. Additionally it will pay nearly €50 million for the structure and a symbolic 1 euro for the land on which it stands.

The Belgians estimate they will pay €607 million for the Berlaymont's renovation and a further €126 million for asbestos removal.

Kinnock, meanwhile, said that a probe by the EU's anti-fraud office (OLAF) into the project is continuing but he has been given no date for when it is likely to be concluded.

He added that it is in 'everybody's interest' to discover if any wrongdoing had occurred.

More than 11 years after the European Commission left its old Berlaymont headquarters, it has finally reached a deal enabling it to move back in.