WRITTEN QUESTION E-0415/96 by Marco Cellai (NI) to the Commission (29 February 1996)

Subject: Extension of the Jean Monnet site in Luxembourg

There have been several press reports of negotiations between the Commission and a German firm on the proposed extension of the Commission's Luxembourg premises. According to the reports, the negotiations relate specifically to the lease of a building 3 km from the Jean Monnet Building.

1. Can the Commission confirm that there is a plot of land, owned by the Luxembourg Government, adjacent to the Jean Monnet Building which has been earmarked as the site for expansion of the latter, under a plan approved by both the Commission and the Government, and in respect of which an option has been requested?

2. If so, why has the bid from the French conglomerate Générale des Eaux been rejected or at any rate not been taken as the starting-point for a new procedure in accordance with Community rules?

3. Given that the current position is not entirely clear, why is the Commission continuing to spend large sums of money on supervision of the construction work on the Hochtief building?

4. Can it say whether the previous Commissioner, Mr Van Miert, merely expressed a general willingness to consider the desirability of renting the Hochtief building the Commission having insisted on the need to use the adjoining land and that, at all events, no commitment to rent the building has been given to date?

5. Does it not believe, not least in the light of the oddities revealed in the press, that it should forgo any interest it may have in the Hochtief building?

Answer given by Mr Liikanen on behalf of the Commission (12 April 1996)

1. The Commission confirms that there is a plot of land belonging to the Luxembourg Government adjacent to the Jean Monnet Building. The Commission has always shown an interest in it.

2. A bid from a company belonging to the French Générale des Eaux group has been considered by the Commission. However, the viability of the project also depends on agreement by the owner of the plot. The Community rules on the award of public contracts must also be complied with and the corresponding deadlines taken into account.

3. The Commission considers that the expenditure in connection with analysing the specifications and supervising the construction of a building capable of housing some 800 officials is still necessary, even if the scheme is not carried through.

4. The Commission had already told the Luxembourg Government that it was prepared to move a certain distance away from the Jean Monnet Building, if that should prove necessary, to accommodate its departments. Nevertheless, it had not given up the idea of one day having a building on the plot of land next to the existing building, so that all its staff could be accommodated together. The Commission's interest in one of these buildings does not, however, rule out an interest in the other.

5. The Commission has asked for certain reports in the press to corrected. As regards accommodating its staff, the Commission will enter into commitments in due course, once it has considered all the requisite data and in line with the procedure laid down for dealing with buildings matters.