European Commission considers office space outside of Brussels

The European Commission is looking into the possibility of taking up office space in the Flemish periphery around Brussels. EU administration needs to find two new buildings – a 30,000 square-metre office building that would be available in 2019, and a larger complex offering 100,000 square metres of office space by 2020.

Until now, the Commission has refused to contemplate moving into offices outside of Brussels. But financial pressures are requiring a change of thinking. “The cost is forcing us to look elsewhere,” Leszek Madeja of the Office for Infrastructure and Logistics told Le Soir. “We have to wait to see what the estate agents are able to offer us. We have to take various factors into account. The prices are lower outside Brussels, working habits have changed, and technology has evolved. But one essential element remains, which is accessibility.”

The Commission recently considered moving to two sites near Josaphat Park and Delta metro station, but both were eventually ruled out. The organisation currently occupies buildings at several sites in Brussels, with the key office buildings clustered around Schuman metro station.