From the Dept. of Why Bother?
Belgium is to manage the building of a new EUR 400 million-plus NATO headquarters, it emerged on Thursday. The North Atlantic Treaty Organisation's current base at Boulevard Leopold III was supposed to be temporary, but it has been there since 1967. NATO moved to Brussels from France after Charles de Gaulle withdrew his country from NATO's military section. On Wednesday, NATO's 26 members agreed Belgium's defence ministry should supervise the building of a new site across the road from the current base in Haren. Under the plans, building work will start next year, but probably won't be finished before 2012. Members had hoped the building would be finished by 2009, but America delayed the plans last year over irritation at Belgium's anti-war stance and the 'Universal Competence Law' which saw George Bush charged with war crimes.| Again, our fault. Wonder who's paying the lion's share of the costs? |
Architects firm Skidmore, Owings and Merill and the Belgian architect Assar won an international competition to design the building which must house 3,150 full-time workers, including 1,000 from the delegations and military organisations of the 26 member countries. |