Editing Brussels (section)

==Brussels and the European Union==
{{Main|Brussels and the European Union}}
[[File:Quartier européen Bruxelles 2011-06 CROP.jpg|thumb|Aerial view of Brussels' [[Brussels and the European Union#European Quarter|European Quarter]], hosting most of the [[European Union]] (EU)'s institutions]]
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Brussels serves as ''[[de facto]]'' capital of the [[European Union]] (EU), hosting the major political [[Institutions of the European Union|institutions of the Union]].{{sfn|Demey|2007}} The EU has not declared a capital formally, though the [[Treaty of Amsterdam]] formally gives Brussels the seat of the [[European Commission]] (the executive branch of government) and the [[Council of the European Union]] (a legislative institution made up from executives of member states).<ref name="ENA COMM SEAT">{{cite web|title=Seat of the European Commission|url=http://www.ena.lu?lang=2&doc=3102|website=European Navigator|access-date=15 June 2022|archive-date=30 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930201316/http://www.ena.lu/?lang=2&doc=3102|url-status=live}}</ref>{{full citation needed|date=April 2018}}<ref name="EC EiB">European Commission publication: ''Europe in Brussels'' 2007</ref>{{full citation needed|date=April 2018}} It locates the formal seat of [[European Parliament]] in [[Strasbourg]], where votes take place, with the council, on the proposals made by the commission. However, meetings of political groups and committee groups are formally given to Brussels, along with a set number of plenary sessions. Three quarters of Parliament sessions now take place at its [[Espace Léopold|Brussels hemicycle]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Wheatley|first=Paul|date=2 October 2006|title=The two-seat parliament farce must end|url=http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=A&Id=2047|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070610174433/http://www.cafebabel.com/en/article.asp?T=A&Id=2047|archive-date=10 June 2007|access-date=16 July 2007|website=cafébabel.com}}</ref> Between 2002 and 2004, the [[European Council]] also fixed its seat in the city.<ref name="Dragoman">{{Cite conference|last=Stark|first=Christine|date=2 September 2002|title=Evolution of the European Council: The implications of a permanent seat|url=http://www.dragoman.org/ec/belfast-2002.pdf|conference=The UACES Thirty-second Annual Conference and Seventh Research Conference, 2–4 September 2002|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070709220601/http://www.dragoman.org/ec/belfast-2002.pdf|archive-date=9 July 2007|access-date=12 July 2007|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2014, the Union hosted a [[40th G7 summit|G7 summit]] in the city.<ref name=":0" />

[[File:Place du Luxembourg 889 Wide.jpg|thumb|right|upright=1.2|The [[Place du Luxembourg|Place du Luxembourg/Luxemburgplein]] with the [[European Parliament]] in the background]]

Brussels, along with [[Luxembourg City|Luxembourg]] and Strasbourg, began to host European institutions in 1957, soon becoming the centre of activities, as the Commission and Council based their activities in what has become the [[Brussels and the European Union#European Quarter|European Quarter]], in the east of the city.<ref name="ENA COMM SEAT" /> Early building in Brussels was sporadic and uncontrolled, with little planning. The current major buildings are the [[Berlaymont building]] of the commission, symbolic of the quarter as a whole, the [[Europa building]] of the Council and the [[Espace Léopold]] of the Parliament.<ref name="EC EiB" /> In recent years, the presence has increased considerably, with the Commission alone occupying {{cvt|865,000|m2}} within the European Quarter (a quarter of the total office space in Brussels).{{sfn|Demey|2007}} The concentration and density has caused concern that the presence of the institutions has created a ''[[ghetto]] effect'' in that part of the city.<ref name="EUO buildings">{{cite web|last=Vucheva|first=Elitsa|date=5 September 2007|title=EU quarter in Brussels set to grow|url=http://euobserver.com/9/24707|access-date=27 September 2007|website=eubserver.com|archive-date=6 December 2012|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121206025214/http://euobserver.com/news/24707|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the European presence has contributed significantly to the importance of Brussels as an international centre.<ref name="E!Sarp" />
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| header            = [[Brussels and the European Union]]
| image1            = Belgique - Bruxelles - Schuman - Berlaymont - 01.jpg
| caption1          = The [[Berlaymont building]] ('''[[European Commission]]''')
| image2            = Europa_building_February_2016_(cropped).jpg
| caption2          = The [[Europa building]] ('''[[European Council]]''')
| image3            = Building of the European Parliament in Brussels.jpg
| caption3          = The [[Espace Léopold]] buildings ('''[[European Parliament]]''')
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