PRESSE Council of the European Union General secretariat EN PRESS FACTSHEET Brussels, 07 December 2016 Factsheet on the EUROPA building The Europa is the new building dedicated to host member state representatives when they meet in the European Council and the Council of the European Union in Brussels. Located at the heart of the European district, the Europa building is a blend of modernity and historic heritage. It combines a new and innovative lantern-shaped structure designed by the consortium "Philippe Samyn and partners architects and engineers, lead and design partner, Studio Valle Progettazioni, architects, Buro Happold, engineers", with a renovated section, block A of the Résidence Palace, a partly listed Art Deco complex designed by architect Michel Polak in 1922. The building will be fully operational at the beginning of 2017. 1. Basic info/Key figures on the building Key figures: Gross surface area: 70 646 m2 ( +/- 1/3 of the size of Justus Lipsius or Berlaymont buildings) Number of windows on the window frames façade = +/- 3750 Number of LED light tubes to lit the lantern: 374 +/- 40% of the new Europa building is the renovated part of the Residence Palace Each part of the building serves a different purpose: the new lantern structure will serve to host meetings of the member states and bilateral and multilateral summits the renovated part of the Residence Palace will host offices for the member state delegations, the President of the European Council, and a few support staff from the Council secretariat Facilities included in the building: 3 meeting rooms with at least 32 interpretation booths each (capacity: +/- 330, +/- 150, +/- 80 ) 3 specific catering/reception areas 10 other meeting rooms 1 room (+/- 120 seats) for press or public relations activities A cafeteria and a canteen Around 250 offices 1 Examples of green/sustainable features of the building: 636 solar panels covering the entire top of the building A system of rain water collection and storage to supply the sanitary facilities A state-of-the-art system to regulate lighting, humidity and temperature inside the building 2. Key dates of the project 2004 : the European Council agrees to the Belgian offer of the Residence Palace site to construct a new building to address the needs stemming from the Treaty of Nice and the enlargement process. September 2005: The joint venture "Philippe Samyn and partners architects and engineers, lead and design partner, Studio Valle Progettazioni, architects, Buro Happold, engineers" is awarded the contract following an architectural competition. March 2007: a preliminary design is approved. Nov. 2007 - Oct. 2008: demolition of the 1960's constructions and removal of asbestos March 2008 : the Belgian state and the Council sign a final agreement on the governance of the project. The prime contractor is the Belgian Régie des bâtiments. From Dec. 2008 to July 2011 : Infrastructure stage (including foundations) September 2011: the actual construction of the building is launched End June 2016: the building is delivered by the Belgian authorities to the Council's secretariat January 2017: the move of most services and delegations is organised. The new Europa building will enter into normal operation mode. Some final adaptations/improvements will still be performed in the coming months. 3. Use of the building The Europa is a building dedicated to meetings involving the member states. It will host the European Council (heads of state or government) and most Council meetings (ministers) as well as EU summits with third countries (bilateral or multilateral summits). Some preparatory working groups will also take place in Europa (e.g. Coreper - involving member states ambassadors - and/or working party meetings). It is a modern and secured environment designed for the work of our two institutions. It is a functional and compact building that has been designed for the purpose of organising meetings, in particular summits. The additional space and facilities will allow for more flexibility and efficiency in the work of the Council. The Europa will help the Council's secretariat to provide a better level of service to delegations. It offers modern technology (videoconferencing, high quality audiovisual broadcast for public sessions, more possibilities in terms of interpretations, etc.). Europa is connected to the Justus Lipsius by two footbridges. The two buildings will operate together as a single area to ensure the most effective use of space and resources. In this respect, for example, the main press centre will remain in the Justus Lipsius. 4. Why did EU leaders decide to build the Europa? The EU leaders (i.e. Presidents and Prime ministers of the member states) decided to start the construction of a new building to host the European Council and Council in 2004. This was made 2 necessary by the decision to host all formal summits in Brussels (taken in order to end the costly practice of organising all EU summits in member states). The Justus Lipsius - the current building used for European Council and Council meetings - was never conceived to host meetings of heads of state or government. Moreover it was designed in the late 1980s, when the EU had 12 member states and has been in use since 1994. Since 2004, the number of summits has constantly increased, from 4 (as provided in the treaty) to 8 or 9 per year. In 2015, a record of 12 summits (European Council or Eurozone) were organised. In addition, since 2009, the Council has also hosted summits between the EU and third countries (e.g. EU-China, EU-Mexico) as well as multilateral summits (e.g. EU-Africa). 5. When do you think the first Council meeting and/or summit will be organised in Europa? The entry into operation of the building is being phased-in. The objective is to ensure a smooth transition for all involved as well as maintaining, at all times, our capacity to organise meetings/summits even at short notice. The building was handed over to the Council's secretariat at the end of June 2016. We are now working with the builder on the so-called "lifting of reservations". The Council's secretariat is also conducting some final work and adaptations that were not included in the main builder's contract, such as the final partitioning and furnishing of offices, some specific technical equipment, etc.) and the final testing and training of staff on all installations. The first meetings of working groups have already taken place. The current working assumption is that the first ministerial meeting will be organised in January 2017 and the first European Council in the first semester of 2017, most probably the regular European Council meeting in March. 6. Why did it take several years to build the Europa? The planning, procurement and construction of public buildings inevitably spans several years. Some specificities of the project also help explain the timetable: the construction took place in an urban area, on a site that presented several constraints: the work on the Schuman station; preservation and restoration of an historical building, etc. The effective start of the construction was also delayed initially by the discovery of oil pollution in the ground and by an appeal made by one of the participants in the tender for the construction of the building. Finally, it is important to keep in mind that the Council made changes to the project, once begun, to take into account of the institutional evolution of the EU (e.g. creation of the permanent position of PEC), new practical arrangements (e.g. decision to hold multilateral summits in Brussels) and the technological evolutions (e.g. HD broadcast, security, etc.) 3 7. Construction cost of the building The budget decided in 2004 by the member states for the project amounts to €321m expressed in June 2016 terms (€240 million, expressed in 2004 terms). This has already been almost fully financed from the EU budget. The difference between the two amounts in 2004 and 2016 is explained by the indexing of costs included in all construction projects. This indexing is meant to take into account, in particular, the evolution of the labour cost and prices of construction materials. This amount was updated following the standard formula applied to construction procurements in Belgium. The definitive construction cost and budget impact for the Council will be finalised with the Belgian Régie des bâtiments in the coming months. based on an examination of the delivery delays on the one hand and the cost of modifications and improvements decided since 2004 on the other. Those changes/improvements were made necessary for: o institutional reasons (Lisbon Treaty, creation of a permanent PEC, changes in the working methods of the European Council - leaders meeting alone instead of with advisors - and the Council, etc.), o organisational reasons (decisions to host multilateral and bilateral summits in Brussels), o technological reasons (evolution of broadcast and security requirements) 8. Governance of the construction project The project is implemented in the framework of a convention concluded in 2008 between the Belgian State and the Council. While the Belgian authorities, through the public Régie des bâtiments, are the prime contractor for the building work, the Council remained in charge of the definition of the project and the selection of the design. 9. Selection of the building design An open architectural competition was organised to select the design of the building considering both the specificities of the project (i.e. the wish to conserve the historical Résidence Palace part) and the wish to have a building with an identity which would integrate in the European quarter. Applications were reviewed by a selection board consisting of members nominated by Member States, representatives of the Belgian federal, regional and communal authorities, representatives of the International Union of Architects, representatives of the Council's secretariat.