WRITTEN QUESTION E-3439/01 by Frank Vanhecke (NI) to the Commission. Cost of renovating the Berlaymont Building.
Date: 2001-12-21
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Brussels region, European Commission, costing, financing, improvement of housing, public building

C 160 E/110

Official Journal of the European Communities

EN

4.7.2002

German law provides that where 10 years have elapsed (and in other circumstances 20 years) since the
theft, the stolen object may be returned to the dealer and not to its country of origin. There is therefore an
inherent risk in this situation of rewarding the trafficker and punishing the Republic of Cyprus.

Is the Commission aware of this matter? Does it intend to raise the matter with the Turkish authorities
whose army has occupied the northern part of Cyprus for 27 years? In what way will it intercede with the
German authorities? What possibilities does the Commission have of intervening to ensure that the stolen
goods are returned immediately to the authorities of the Republic of Cyprus?

Answer given by Mr Verheugen on behalf of the Commission

(14 February 2002)

The matter referred to by the Honourable Members concerns a claim by the Republic of Cyprus against
the person who is in possession of the disputed objects. It is not for the Commission to become involved
in legal proceedings in the Member States which are not related to the implementation of Community law.

In addition,
provisions could well be clarified with the competent German authorities.

it appears that the Honourable Members’

information about the relevant German legal

At all events, Germany is not obliged to comply with the treaties signed by the former German
Democratic Republic (GDR). According to Art. 12 of the German Treaty of Unification of 31 August
1990, Germany is to negotiate with the Contracting Partners of the former GDR as to whether treaties
should continue to apply or cease to exist.

§ 937 para. 1 of the Civil Code (‘Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch’) provides that a person who possesses an object
for a period of 10 years without interruption will be automatically transferred ownership. However,
according to para. 2 of this provision, the transfer of ownership is excluded if the possessor did not
acquire possession in good faith or has subsequently found out that ownership is with somebody else.

(2002/C 160 E/143)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3439/01

by Frank Vanhecke (NI) to the Commission

(21 December 2001)

Subject: Cost of renovating the Berlaymont Building

Renovation work on the Berlaymont Building is almost complete. The cost of that work prompts a large
number of financial questions.

Can the Commission indicate the initial estimate of the cost of the renovations and the actual final cost?

How can the discrepancy between the two amounts be accounted for?

What did it cost to move the Commission out of the Berlaymont Building before renovations began, and
what amount has been earmarked for its move back?

Where will the money required to pay for the renovation of the Berlaymont Building come from?

Is it true that the Belgian Government will also be covering part of the cost? If so, how much will it pay?

4.7.2002

EN

Official Journal of the European Communities

C 160 E/111

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(8 February 2002)

The Berlaymont ‘protocole d’accord’ signed by the Belgian Government and the European Commission on
8 July 1997 included an estimate for the costs of renovating the building (assuming reoccupation on
30 June 2000) of BEF 13,1 billion (€ 324 million).

The latest cost estimate made by Berlaymont 2000 SA in its Annual Report for the year 2000 (published
11 June 2001) was that
the renovation cost would be BEF 20,2 billion (€ 500 million), assuming
reoccupation by 31 December 2003. This should not be interpreted as a price that the Commission would
be prepared to pay. As the protocole made clear, works must be performed in accordance with best
practice. The Commission has repeatedly emphasised to the Government, the company responsible for
management of the works, and all other parties that it will not cover any renovation costs resulting from
management errors and consequent delays.

The difference between the 1997 estimate and the 2001 estimate is said to arise from the delay in the date
for completion, which, in turn, is attributed to difficulties experienced by Berlaymont 2000 in managing
the project, and to the time that has been given to litigation resulting from disputes between contractors
involved in the works.

The cost of moving out of the Berlaymont in 1991 amounted to 51 million ECU’s (around BEF 2 billion).
It related to direct removal costs and to the costs of modifying and furnishing the substitution buildings.

It is difficult now, in January 2002, to make a precise and dependable estimate of the costs of moving
3 000 officials back into the Berlaymont building in 2004, especially since there is not yet any real
certainty that reoccupation can take place on the revised date of 31 December 2003. The Honourable
Member may be assisted by the knowledge that the 2001 estimated average cost of moving an official
between offices that are used in Brussels was € 120. The cost of furniture, telephones, computers and other
technical installations must be added to that sum.

The renovation of the Berlaymont is currently financed by a short-term loan in the sole name of the
Berlaymont 2000 SA, a company that was specifically and solely established to manage the renovation of
the Berlaymont and is 70 % owned by the Belgian State and 30 % owned by two banks.

the costs of
The ‘protocole d’accord’ of 1997 stipulated that
decontamination (which proved to be BEF 5 billion, € 124 million).
It also made provision for the
Commission, subject to certain conditions that require the work to be brought to ‘une bonne fin’ (a
satisfactory conclusion), to meet renovation costs.

the Belgian government would meet

As previously announced to Parliament and public, the Commission and the Belgian Government are
continuing discussions which they jointly intend to conclude with a mutually acceptable contract.

(2002/C 160 E/144)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3440/01

by Camilo Nogueira Román (Verts/ALE) to the Commission

(21 December 2001)

Subject: The ‘communal woodlands’ of Galicia and rural development

In the Spanish region of Galicia, there is a Germanic form of land ownership involving ‘communal
woodlands’, the distinguishing characteristic of which is that the land belongs to the inhabitants because
they live in a particular community. There are 2 800 woodland communities of this kind, covering an
average area of 243 hectares and accounting altogether for one third of the rural land in Galicia. The
number of
inhabitants in the villages with ‘communal woodlands’ totals as many as 250 000. The
communally owned land was recovered after being to a great extent appropriated during the Franco