Construction chaos and deep debt plunge European Quarter remake into crisis
At its center is the Schuman roundabout revamp, now plagued by spiraling costs, bureaucratic spats and local frustration.
By ELENA GIORDANO and SEB STARCEVIC in Brussels
Photos by Arnau Busquets Guàrdia/POLITICO
Exit the Berlaymont or Europa building and the dust stings your eyes, drilling pierces your ears and jackhammers rattle the glass facades as you weave through fenced-off detours, hemmed in by honking drivers trapped in perpetual traffic.
Throughout the European Quarter of Brussels — where many of the European Union’s institutions are headquartered — the story is much the same, with tired office buildings torn down to make way for gleaming new developments, filling the streets with an incessant rumble of demolition and construction.
Even for a city used to reinventing itself, the European Quarter’s transformation is bold. But spiraling costs, bureaucratic spats and local frustration are beginning to overshadow what was meant to be a flagship renewal.
At the center of it all is the Schuman roundabout, a traffic-choked junction now under full-scale redevelopment. By mid-2026, the concrete-heavy site is set to become a greened-up pedestrian promenade.
Just down the road, a sprawling new European Commission conference center is rising at Rue de la Loi 93-97, replacing a long-abandoned office block and once-beloved mural. Another structure at Rue de l’Industrie 44 has been razed, although its future remains unclear. Around a dozen more sites around the quarter, from Rue de la Science to Avenue de Cortenbergh, are now in some state between demolition and reconstruction.
Several streets, such as Rue Guimard, will be ripped up and have trees planted as part of an ambitious master plan to make the quarter greener. To that end, the Commission last year sold 23 of its office buildings to Belgium for €900 million to redevelop, in a bid to build a “modern, attractive and greener” district.
It’s a grand vision that taps into Brussels’ long history of chaotic redevelopment — captured in the deprecating term “Brusselization,” coined during the city’s notorious construction boom of the 1960s and 1970s. That era saw unchecked freedom to developers, razing much of the city’s Art Nouveau history and transforming the EU capital into a mishmash of architectural styles.
But despite the buzz around the ambitious current makeover, not everyone is sold. With local businesses worried about the long-term impact on foot traffic, a paralyzed Brussels government, allegations of budgetary fraud and a city deep in debt, this redevelopment risks becoming the ultimate stress test for the capital of Belgium — and the EU.
Locals feel the strain
Among business owners and employees around the Schuman roundabout POLITICO talked to, not everyone was convinced that the upheaval will be worth it.
“It’s a mess,” said a staffer at Portuguese restaurant Puro, which borders the construction site, who like others in this story was granted anonymity to freely discuss the impact of the works. Lunchtime business has dropped, he said, though noted a slight uptick as work progresses.
At nearby Papillon, a favorite spot for EU officials and diplomats, a manager called the noise “frustrating,” but said project managers had kept him informed. They’re still aiming to finish the work by April 2026, he added.
A Commission employee, likewise granted anonymity, was more skeptical. “For a while, we have been receiving a lot of emails announcing the project,” she said. “I just hope there will actually be some green when the project is finished — so far it’s a lot of concrete.”
Brussels has a reputation for never-ending, unsightly construction and bureaucratic paralysis — standing in stark contrast to cities in Asia or the Americas, where skyscrapers have been assembled and sinkholes filled in weeks or less.
Making matters worse is the lack of coordination among various worksites in the EU capital. Brussels’ own Construction Coordination Commission is tasked with synchronizing infrastructure projects across a patchwork of institutions and municipalities.
But in practice, that often falls short.
“In Brussels, there’s a coordination problem,” admitted David Dubois, Cabinet chief of the Etterbeek municipality, which borders the Schuman site. “It’s not easy. It requires a lot of consultations, and there are many factors to take into consideration when working with different municipalities,” he added.
Cash crunch and political disputes
In early June, Brussels’ caretaker government asked EU institutions to contribute €3 million toward the Schuman redevelopment, warning that failing to do so before the end of the month could lead to “even further additional cost.”
Commission spokesperson Paula Pinho confirmed the EU executive had received the request. “We will respond to the letter in due time,” she said, without giving away any details on if — or how much — the Commission would contribute. At the end of August, a spokesperson for the infrastructure agency Beliris told POLITICO they were not aware of any response from the Commission to the letter.
Belgium’s Prime Minister Bart De Wever, however, slammed the region’s plea as a “true disgrace” and a “total humiliation,” urging EU institutions not to enable what he called the “failed state” politics of the capital.
Dubois wasn’t surprised by the financial ask. “We know the reality that is going on with every construction site: With inflation and rising material costs, it’s difficult to finish the works and keep costs at the same level as they were defined a few weeks prior,” he said.
“But this project — it’s symbolic, and we need to finish it. It’s important to create as quickly as possible an environment that is comfortable for citizens, so we have to move forward,” he added.
Adding another twist, in late August Beliris announced that the revamp of the Schuman roundabout will be completed without its showpiece steel canopy — unless Brussels finds more money by mid-September.
Paralysis and debt
The political situation isn’t helping. Brussels has been without a functioning regional government for more than 13 months, with coalition negotiations stalled since the June 2024 elections.
Talks resumed in mid-July, with six parties sitting down for formal coalition talks — but hopes for a new government unraveled within a day.
“Everyone knows the situation is difficult, financially and politically,” said Dubois. “We’ve had no government, no direction, since the last election,” he added.
Meanwhile, the capital’s debt exceeds €14 billion, with another €1.6 billion expected to be added this year.
A recent investigation by The Brussels Times reported that €250 million in EU infrastructure loans may have been diverted to cover general expenses instead of transportation projects, potentially violating EU rules. Following the investigation, the Flemish nationalist New Flemish Alliance party, led by De Wever, called for a parliamentary inquiry into possible budgetary fraud.
For now, hard-hatted construction crews are plowing ahead, chiseling sidewalks, pouring fresh cement and weaving scaffolding ever higher, with pedestrians forced to pick their way through fenced-off detours.
The Schuman roundabout is supposed to be completed by April of next year — but don’t expect the noise and detours to end for the European Quarter as Brusselization marches on.
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