WRITTEN QUESTION E-3438/03 by Koenraad Dillen (NI) to the Commission. Renovation of the Berlaymont building.
Date: 2003-11-20
Institutions: European Parliament, Provisional data
Subjects: Brussels region, European Commission, costing, improvement of housing, seat of institution

C 78 E/284

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

27.3.2004

(2004/C 78 E/0284)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3438/03

by Koenraad Dillen (NI) to the Commission

(20 November 2003)

Subject: Renovation of the Berlaymont building

The renovation of the Berlaymont building on Place Schuman in Brussels has been in progress for several
years. Because of extensive asbestos contamination, it was necessary to almost completely demolish the
whole building.

Can the Commission state definitely when the renovation work will be completely finished?

When was it originally expected that the project would be completed?

What was the cost initially estimated when the contract for the project was awarded?

What firms ultimately participated in the renovation work?

Does the Commission now know what the final full cost of renovating the Berlaymont building will be?

Answer given by Mr Kinnock on behalf of the Commission

(20 January 2004)

On 13 November 2002, the Commission signed a contractual Convention with the Belgian Government
which established fixed delivery dates of:

(cid:1) 31 December 2003 for the main part (Tower);

(cid:1) 31 March 2004 for the meeting room of the Commission and associated interpretation facilities

(13th floor); and

(cid:1) 30 June 2004 for the multimedia zone (Press centre).

The responsibility for the renovation works lies entirely with the Belgian Government (SA Berlaymont
2000).

It has become clear in the most recent meetings that the Vice-President of the Commission in charge of
Personnel and Administration has had with the Belgian Minister of Finance M. Didier Reynders that,
despite advances with the works, the effective delivery date for the main part of the building (Tower) will
be the end of April 2004, and for the meeting room of the Commission (13th floor) and the multimedia
zone it will be the end of June 2004. As the Commission announced in its public press briefing on
16 December 2003, delivery of the building within this schedule would enable the new President of the
Commission and the relevant staff to occupy the Berlaymont in good time before the new Commission
takes up office on November 1st 2004. No further delay will, however, be acceptable.

As the Honourable Member may also be aware,
from 1 January 2004 and until the Berlaymont is
delivered, the Belgium government is liable for the full rental cost of the substitution buildings occupied by
the Commission in lieu of the Berlaymont. Delays in completion of the 13th floor (containing the
Commission room) beyond 1 April 2004 will also result in the payment of financial penalties to the
Commission. There would be similar penalties for non-delivery of the multimedia zone by 1 July 2004.

The estimated cost for the renovation of the Berlaymont was given by the Commission in answer to
Written Question E-3439/01 by Mr Vanhecke (1). That answer referred to the figure of BEF 13,1 billion
(EUR 324 million) which was set down in the 1997 protocole d’accord between the Belgian Government
and the Commission. The cost estimate provided by Berlaymont 2000 SA in its annual report for 2000
(published in June 2001) was for BEF 20,2 billion (EUR 500 million).

27.3.2004

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 78 E/285

The cost of acquisition of the Berlaymont by the Commission after renovation as defined in the contractual
Convention is EUR 553 million which includes EUR 503,3 million for the Commission’s share in the
renovation cost and EUR 49,6 million for the value of the building before renovation. However, detail of
the real and/or final costs of the renovation is not available to the Commission because these figures are
only available to the Belgian Government. It is clear, meanwhile, that delay in the execution of the works
has added substantially to any final cost. According to a report submitted by Ernst and Young to the
Commission dated 16 July 2002,
to BEF 29 044 billion
(EUR 719 million).

the full cost of renovation could amount

The Berlaymont renovation is lead by a consortium called EuroConstruct which is composed of two
companies: Bouygues (Fr) and Strabag (D).

(1) OJ C 160 E, 4.7.2002.

(2004/C 78 E/0285)

WRITTEN QUESTION E-3445/03

by Ilda Figueiredo (GUE/NGL) to the Commission

Subject: Support for non-autonomous handicapped people

(20 November 2003)

Relatives of highly dependent, non-autonomous handicapped people have alerted me to the fact that the
situation in Portugal is extremely bad, with pensions for severe dependency being extremely low and major
shortcomings in the provision of public support. Private ‘social solidarity’ institutions working in the field,
which play a very important role, encounter many difficulties and enormous restrictions, since there is a
lack of adequate residential accommodation for these people.

Can the Commission answer the following:

1. What aid is earmarked to help and guarantee the viability of

institutions looking after non-
autonomous handicapped citizens, such as the mentally handicapped, and specifically for residential
accommodation and for teaching and recovery techniques?

2. What measures are envisaged to make progress towards bringing pensions for handicapped people
into line amongst the various Member States, given that in Portugal, the monthly pension for highly
dependent people is a mere EUR 225?

Answer given by Mrs Diamantopoulou on behalf of the Commission

(6 January 2004)

The level of social benefits, the conditions for their granting and the organisation of social protection
systems fall within the competence of the Member States. A legislative harmonisation of benefits for
people with disabilities is not foreseen.

However, since the Lisbon European Council
in March 2000, the Union has put in place enhanced
cooperation between the Member States in the field of social protection by applying the open method of
coordination first to questions of social inclusion and, subsequently, to pensions. The extension of this
open method of coordination to health care and long-term care is also foreseen.

The open method of coordination is based on the definition of common objectives (cid:1) which are legally
non-binding, however (cid:1) and indicators for measuring Member States’ progress towards these objectives.

In terms of social inclusion, two objectives cover people with disabilities:

(cid:1) to prevent the risk of exclusion, the Member States are called on to exploit fully the potential of the
knowledge-based society and of new information and communication technologies and to ensure that
no-one is excluded, taking particular account of the needs of people with disabilities;