Union is a mixed blessing

Date: 17/09/1998

By Tim Jones

EUROPEAN institutions occupy nearly one-seventh of all office space in Brussels and plough more than 4 billion ecu annually into the Belgian economy, according to a new study commissioned by the regional government.

However, the report published this week by Brussels Economic Affairs Minister Jos Chabert also reveals that the international nature of the city is “contributing” to a widening gap between rich and poor.

According to the study, the average income per inhabitant in Brussels is 8,600 ecu, compared with 9,700 ecu in Flanders and Wallonia. “In Brussels, this gap is exacerbated by the presence of a large community of civil servants and their families who can afford a high standard of living,” it says.

The result has been a 6&percent; increase in the number of foreigners in Brussels over the past four years and a 1&percent; fall in the indigenous population. To compensate for this, Chabert is asking the federal government for an increase in the capital's 50-million-ecu annual subsidy.

Between 1994 and 1998, the number of jobs generated by international institutions in Brussels increased from 55,000 to 62,000, of which half are held by Belgians. Of the 20,000 EU civil servants employed in the capital, 26&percent; have Belgian nationality.

“EU-dependent sectors,” such as diplomacy, lobbying and media, provide jobs for an estimated 8,000 people.

“As far as the diplomatic community and the international press are concerned, Brussels is equally as important as Washington DC,” claims the report.