The

Charlemagne Charlemagne ( , ) or Charles the Great ( la, Carolus Magnus; german: Karl der Große; 2 April 747 – 28 January 814), a member of the Carolingian dynasty, was King of the Franks from 768, King of the Lombards from 774, and the first Holy ...

building is a high-rise in the European Quarter of

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

, which houses the

Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs The Directorate-General for Economic and Financial Affairs (DG ECFIN) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The DG ECFIN is located in Brussels, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Its main responsibility is to encourage the development of Ec ...

, the

Directorate-General for Trade The Directorate-General for Trade (DG TRADE) is a Directorate-General of the European Commission. The European Commission's Directorate- General for Trade (DG Trade) develops and implements the EU's trade policy in order to help secure prosperity, ...

and, since 2015, the Internal Audit Service of the Commission. The building has 3 wings and 15 floors. It is located at 170 Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat, in the

City of Brussels The City of Brussels (french: Ville de Bruxelles or alternatively ''Bruxelles-Ville'' ; nl, Stad Brussel or ''Brussel-Stad'') is the largest municipality and historical City centre, centre of the Brussels, Brussels-Capital Region, as well a ...

, one of the 19 municipalities forming the

Brussels-Capital Region Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. 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 The Berlaymont () is an office building in Brussels, Belgium, which houses the headquarters of the European Commission, the executive branch of the European Union (EU). The structure is located on the Robert Schuman Roundabout at 200, rue de l ...

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 The Council of the European Union, often referred to in the treaties and other official documents simply as the Council, and informally known as the Council of Ministers, is the third of the seven Institutions of the European Union (EU) as ...

, Charlemagne was given to the Council's secretariat in 1971. This had previously been located in the city centre.European Commission Publication: Europe in Brussels, 2007. Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F046067-0010, EG-Gebäude, Haus Charlemagne, Sitz EG-Ministerrat

Bundesarchiv B 145 Bild-F046067-0010, EG-Gebäude, Haus Charlemagne, Sitz EG-Ministerrat

The Council moved out to the

Justus Lipsius building The Justus Lipsius building, located in Brussels, Belgium, was the headquarters of the Council of the European Union from 1995, and the ''de facto'' home of the European Council from 2002 (''de jure'' as of 2004), until their relocation to the a ...

in 1995 allowing it to be renovated. The renovation was completed in 1998 by

Helmut Jahn Helmut Jahn (January 4, 1940 – May 8, 2021) was a German-American architect, known for projects such as the Sony Center on Potsdamer Platz in Berlin, Germany; the Messeturm in Frankfurt, Germany; the Thompson Center in Chicago; One Liberty ...

, 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 The Robert Schuman Roundabout (french: Rond-point Robert Schuman, nl, Robert Schumanplein), sometimes called Robert Schuman Square, is a roundabout at the end of the Rue de la Loi/Wetstraat in Brussels, Belgium, that serves as a focus for m ...

. It was briefly considered as the future HQ of the

European External Action Service The European External Action Service (EEAS) is the diplomatic service and combined foreign and defence ministry of the European Union (EU). The EEAS is led by the High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy (HR/VP), who is also ...

, 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.

References

Emporis building information

Dow Corning construction

European Navigator
European Commission Buildings and structures in Brussels Buildings and structures of the European Union European quarter of Brussels Skyscraper office buildings in Belgium {{belgium-struct-stub Office buildings completed in 1967

History

See also

See also

References