Berlaymont group awaits Barroso decision

By Tim King

Date: 22/07/04

THE reopening of the Berlaymont as the headquarters of the European Commission is waiting for a decision from José Manuel Barroso, the incoming Commission president, as to whether he wants to have his fellow commissioners in the same building.

The alternative is to disperse the commissioners, giving them offices in their individual departments.

Barroso's decision is the missing element as the Commission plans to move staff back into the Berlaymont building that they left 13 years ago.

The Belgian authorities, who were in charge of rebuilding and renovating the Berlaymont after the removal of asbestos, handed the main building back to the Commission earlier this month.

But there are still some issues that Berlaymont 2000, the body overseeing the work on behalf of the Belgian state, has to complete, including the multi-media centre which will link meeting rooms and manage communications.

Luc Kint of Berlaymont 2000 said that the installation was awaiting the arrival of a highly specialized computer. But he hoped to have completed his work by the end of September, well before the approval of a new College of commissioners.

The staff of the legal service, numbering around 400, are expected to move in to the Berlaymont in mid-September. They will be followed by 530 staff of the secretariat-general and 400 from the press and communications service. The security department and the protocol service, both directly answerable to the president's office, will also be housed in the Berlaymont.

Eric Mamer, a spokesman for the Commission, said: "The general principle is that we want to be in by the end of October so that the new Commission can start moving fully operational. A lot will depend on what decision Barroso takes as to whether to move commissioners back in or not."

Kint said the principal task left was to check the quality of the work. "A large apartment has 150 square metres. We have to check 230,000 square metres. It must all be in order. We have paid for this," he said.

Article describes the plans for the European Commission to re-use the Berlaymont building in Brussels following its long closure for renovation. The reopening of the Berlaymont as the headquarters of the European Commission is waiting for a decision from José Manuel Barroso, the incoming European Commission President, as to whether he wants to have his fellow Commissioners in the same building.

http://www.berlaymont2000.com/ http://www.berlaymont2000.com/

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