European institutions in Strasbourg
There are a range of European institutions in Strasbourg (France), the oldest of which dates back to 1815. In all, there are more than twenty different institutions based in the Alsatian city.[1]
Area
The European Quarter is spread over an area covering the districts of Wacken, Orangerie and Robertsau in the north-west of the city and comprising the intersection of the
November 2007 saw the extension of the
In all, there are fifteen different buildings in the European Quarter: seven belonging to the Council of Europe, six belonging (or rented by) to the European Union, plus Arte and the IIHR.
History and institutions
The first European institution to be based in the city was the
However the bulk of the European presence in Strasbourg comes from the post-
One of the main impulses of making Strasbourg into the seat of numerous European institutions came from
Council of Europe
The Council of Europe has eight buildings in the district; its main building used to be shared with the European Parliament. The first building to be completed was the House of Europe, inaugurated in 1950 but torn down in 1977 when it was replaced by the current Palace of Europe.
The Palace of Europe and the
Due to persistent budgetary shortages, it was reported in 2010 that the Council of Europe was expected to cut down significantly the number of its activities, and thus the number of its employees, from 2011 onwards. This was expected to notably affect the economy of the city of Strasbourg.[14]
European Parliament
The European Parliament has six buildings in the quarter. It previously used the
The Václav Havel building, inaugurated on 5 July 2017, was originally built in 1955 for the Council of Europe, which used it as "Building B" until 2007. In 2012, it was bought by the European Parliament, which renovated it thoroughly, completely transforming its appearance.[15][16][17]
Controversy
The location of Parliament has caused some controversy, as its work takes place not only in Strasbourg but also in Brussels and Luxembourg City. The split arrangement has caused financial, environmental and practical difficulties, with the Strasbourg location usually (though not universally) being cited as the extraneous location rather than Brussels.[18]
European studies
The École nationale d'administration, founded in 1945 in Paris, was moved to Strasbourg by decree in 1991 and permanently established there in 2005 (although the headquarters had been transferred from the start, the students had to spend half of their annual curricula in either city until that date).[20] In the course of its refocusing on European governance, it merged with the Centre d'études européennes de Strasbourg (Center for European Studies, CEES) of the University of Strasbourg and subtitled itself École européenne de gouvernance (European Governance School).[21]
Another related academic institution is the Institut des hautes études européennes (IHEE), located in the Art Nouveau former Villa Knopf (built 1903–1905), close to the Parliament and the CoE. This school was founded in 1953 and was then called Centre universitaire des hautes études européennes (University Center for higher European Studies).[22]
Accredited European School
The European School of Strasbourg was inaugurated by French education minister Xavier Darcos on 4 September 2008. It is the first of the Accredited European Schools, offering the European Baccalaureate as its secondary leaving qualification, to have been established in France.[23]
Information relays
Strasbourg also serves as the seat of diverse information relays of the European Union, such as the Information Centre on European Institutions (CIIE), the Euro-Info Centre (EIC), the MEDIA Antenna and the European Documentation Centre (EDC)[24] as well as the European Job Mobility Portal, the EURES network.[1] The city also hosted the automated computerised network Schengen Information System and currently hosts the central unit of its new version, the Schengen Information System II, a back-up unit being located in Austria.[25]
Other bodies
Other bodies based in the city, most of them unrelated either to the Council of Europe or the European Union but working in more or less close association with them, are: International Commission on Civil Status, Eurocorps (created in 1993), the International Institute of Human Rights (founded in 1969), the European Science Foundation (founded in 1974), EuroScience (founded in 1997), the Assembly of European Regions (established in 1985) and the Human Frontier Science Program (conceived in 1986, launched in 1989). Strasbourg is also, since its inception in 1991, the main seat of the Franco-German television channel Arte. Starting from its establishing date on 1 December 2012, also the new European Agency for the operational management of large-scale IT systems in the area of freedom, security and justice (eu-LISA) has his operational HQ in Strasbourg.
Finally, Strasbourg also hosts the association Apollonia (created in 1998), which defines itself as "a platform of cooperation in the area of the visual arts between European countries and, more specifically, with the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, the Balkans, the countries along the Baltic Sea and in the South Caucasus."[26] The association was created on the basis of work conducted since 1994 by the Council of Europe within the framework of the Program of European Artistic Exchanges.[26]
Political status
Twenty institutions have their sole seat, or one of their main seats, in Strasbourg.).
Brussels claims the title of "Capital of Europe" in reference to the European Union, while Strasbourg (with the Council of Europe) refers to the continent as a whole. In regards to the European Union, Strasbourg sometimes claims to be the 'democratic' or 'legislative' capital (due to the presence of the Parliament) while classing Brussels as the 'administrative' or 'executive' capital (due to the presence of the European Commission and Council in that city).
In 2005, the urban area of Greater Strasbourg formed a small political community (known as the
See also
References
- ^ a b c List of international institutions in Strasbourg Archived 10 March 2010 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Interactive map of the European district of Strasbourg Archived 4 October 2011 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ History of the seat Archived 28 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine on the website of the IIHR
- ^ ""Arte inaugure son nouveau siège à Strasbourg"". Archived from the original on 6 June 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ^ Pictures of the inauguration on Mr. Pöttering's official website – search in "Images", "Archives", "November 2007".
- ^ Balandra, Antoine (20 November 2023). "Parlement européen : découvrez le nouveau bâtiment que vient inaugurer la première ministre à Strasbourg". France Bleu. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ Beckelynck, Anne-Camille (21 November 2023). "Le Parlement européen baptise son nouveau bâtiment « Simone Veil » en présence d'Élisabeth Borne". Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
- ^ "Presentation of the ICCS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 July 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ^ Joint Programmes between the Council of Europe and The European Commission
- ^ "Pourquoi et en quoi "L'Europe DE Strasbourg"?". Archived from the original on 20 July 2011. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ISBN 978-2-35288-154-4.
- ^ 2008 List of MIPIM winners[permanent dead link]
- ^ Inauguration of the Agora Building Archived 26 June 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Conseil de l'Europe – Réduction drastique des activités à Strasbourg". L'Alsace. 19 June 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2010.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Official opening of the Havel Building". European Parliament / The President. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ "Václav Havel: Parliament dedicates building to former Czech president". News / European Parliament. Retrieved 18 July 2017.
- ^ "Bâtiment Vaclav-Havel - Allée Spach". archi-wiki.org. Retrieved 18 July 2017.[permanent dead link]
- ^ Mardell, Mark (14 December 2007). "Giving up the Strasbourg junket". BBC News. Retrieved 6 December 2007.
- ^ History of the ENA building
- ^ "History of the ENA". Archived from the original on 25 February 2008. Retrieved 22 August 2018.
- ^ ""A school located at the heart of Europe"". Archived from the original on 24 February 2008. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ^ Présentation of the IHEE
- ^ "Xavier Darcos inaugure l'École européenne de Strasbourg" [Xavier Darcos inaugurates the European School of Strasbourg]. Ministère de l'Éducation nationale et de la Jeunesse (in French). 4 September 2008. Archived from the original on 14 February 2012. Retrieved 2 September 2019.
- ^ "The information relays of the European Union". Archived from the original on 1 August 2009. Retrieved 4 July 2008.
- ^ Schengen Information System II
- ^ a b "Apollonia, european arts exchanges". Archived from the original on 7 July 2011. Retrieved 9 July 2008.
- ^ Figures on the Eurodistrict's website Archived 4 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine