IMPORTANCE OF THE EUROPEAN AND INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTIONS IN BRUSSELS

Brussels has an established reputation as the ‘Capital of Europe’, due to the presence of the main European institutions and other international organisations. Their proximity provides enormous added value; not only for Brussels but also for the rest of the country. The significance of this presence is insufficiently valued by policymakers in Belgium and it is often considered the equivalent of ‘a free lunch'.

The EU as fuel for the Brussels and Belgian economy

1. The EU presence in Brussels

• Two European institutions have their headquarters in Brussels: the European Commission and the Council of the European Union.

• Although the European Parliament has its official headquarters in Strasbourg and its Secretariat-General in Luxembourg, the political groups and parliamentary committees meet in Brussels. In practice, this means that the members of the European Parliament, their assistants and some of the officials, spend three weeks a month in Brussels and only one week in Strasbourg. The plenary sessions and votes of the EP are held in Strasbourg, but in addition, the Parliament also holds mini-sessions in Brussels on a regular basis.

• Since the Lisbon treaty ratification by all EU member-states, the European Council (also referred to as the “European summit”) has become another European institution with its official headquarters in Brussels.

• Two advisory European bodies have their headquarters in Brussels: the Committee of the Regions and the European Economic and Social Committee.

Brussels also accommodates the headquarters of seven European agencies:

1. The European Defence Agency (EDA)
2. The Education, Audiovisual and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA)
3. The Executive Agency for Competitiveness and Innovation (EACI)
4. The European Global Navigation Satellite System Supervisory Authority (GSA)
5. The Research Executive Agency (REA)
6. The European Research Council Executive Agency (ERC)
7. The Trans-European Transport Network Executive Agency (TEN-T EA)

• In addition to the European agencies, several other European inter-institutional bodies have made Brussels their home base: the European Personnel Selection Office (the EPSO looks after the recruitment of new personnel for all the EU institutions), the European Administrative School (the EAS provides training and development to the aforementioned members of staff) and the Publications Office (the publisher of the publications of all the institutions of the EU).

• There are two other community bodies in Brussels: the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF) and the Directorate-General Joint Research Centre (DG JRC). Officially, they form part of the European Commission, but they enjoy greater autonomy than the other Directorates-General.

• Brussels is also home to several international institutions, such as NATO, Eurocontrol , the West-European Union, the World Customs Organisation, the European Committee for Standardization, the Secretariat-General of the Benelux, and others.

• Brussels also accommodates delegations from international institutions that have their headquarters elsewhere, including several departments of the UN (UNICEF, UNESCO, etc.), and also the Organisation for African Unity, the International Organisation for Migration, etc.

The economic significance of the presence of the EU and other institutions

• Good for 100,000 jobs

The presence of the European and international institutions generates additional jobs in several sectors, such as the hotel, restaurant and catering sector and commerce and tourism, on top of the direct employment opportunities. Indirectly, they create approximately 28,000 jobs. In total, the presence of the European and international institutions is thought to account for 13 to 14% of the jobs and the GNP of Brussels, which is the equivalent of approximately 100,000 jobs. This means that the presence of the EU and the international institutions in itself accounts for about 2.5% of the Belgian economy. Their economic weight is comparable to the automotive sector, and more substantial than the hotel and catering sector, the textile sector or the production of power and water, and five times the value of the agricultural sector. These figures do not include certain derived effects, such as the indirect effects for service providers and subcontractors at Brussels Airport, or the derived consequences of the global brand recognition of Brussels as the centre of European decision-making.

Economic impact through various channels

a) Direct impact of international institutions

The number of European officials working in Brussels stands at between 37,000 and 39,000  (estimates). Recent figures indicate that two thirds of them are resident in the Brussels Capital Region. Approximately 6,400 people work for the other international institutions in Brussels, out of whom 4,000 are employed by NATO.

The five main European institutions and bodies occupy 1.9 million m² of office space. When  adding the office space occupied by the other European organisations (such as the lobby groups, regional offices, NGOs, etc.), this figure increases to 3.3 million m², or 30 % of the total available office space in Brussels. A significant proportion of the real estate is owned by Belgian institutions (insurance companies, pension funds and financial institutions).

b) Activities directly associated with the EU and international institutions

• The number of diplomats working in Brussels is estimated to be around 5,200 ; which is the biggest number of diplomats working in any one city district in the world. Of this total, approximately 2,000 work for permanent delegations to the EU and the Western European Union.

• The permanent delegations and diplomatic missions to NATO consist of about 2,000 members (only part of which consists of diplomats).

• Furthermore, Brussels accommodates over 300 representations from regional and local authorities to the EU.

• With a press corps of about 800 people, Brussels is the largest press centre in the world.

• Brussels has the largest number of lobbyists after Washington. Their number is generally estimated at between 15,000 and 20,000, although the precise number is said to be higher according to some sources. Approximately 3,000 lobby groups are thought to be active in Brussels.  This includes trades unions, employers' organisations, research centres, NGOs, professional associations and solicitors.

• Brussels boasts approximately 150 lawyers' offices with an international and European focus.

• EU institutions and associated organisations (such as the European schools) call to a large extent on Belgian companies for the procurement of goods and services. A recent survey showed that Belgian companies secured 38% of the smaller contracts (with a value of between 13,800 and 50,000 euro), and 67% of contracts awarded by EU institutions solely based in Brussels.

c) Activities indirectly associated with the EU and international institutions

• Brussels is home to 2,300 branches of foreign companies. Among them are the European headquarters of several multinational companies, such as Toyota, Coca Cola and IBM. Most of them are business service providers with an international orientation. IT services, financial services and the international legal profession are strongly represented. On average, branches of foreign companies are comparatively small in size, employing approximately one hundred people. Besides, large Belgian global companies are few and far between.

• The presence of international institutions accounts for 70% of business tourism and 30% of leisure tourism .

• Brussels has four European schools (Ukkel, Woluwe, Elsene and Laken), which are attended by almost 9,000 pupils.

• The private purchases made by personnel from the European and international institutions (and their family members), specifically in sectors such as real estate, retail, hotels and catering, transport, and the leisure industry, also have an impact. It is worth noting that EU officials may well be exempt from income tax payable to the federal government, but that they are liable for other taxes: VAT, (regional and municipal) property tax, (regional) registration taxes, municipal surcharges on income tax and other municipal taxes.