Schuman Square, the symbolic gateway to the European Union's institutional heart, stands unfinished as a concrete expanse with little greenery or shade after the planned canopy that was meant to crown the project was cancelled. The redevelopment was intended to transform a traffic-clogged roundabout into "an urban agora", a greener, calmer meeting place and, in the words of a former head of the Brussels government, "a symbol that beats as the heart … of the European project".
Pascal Smet, a former Brussels minister for mobility who launched the project 11 years ago, said he was "disappointed, angry and sad" about the result. "Schuman Square is the carte de visite [the calling card] of Brussels. It is the symbol of Europe," he said from a cafe on the square. "This should be a meeting place for people." Francis De Wolf, the engineer-architect, said: "The project is not finished. It is very difficult for me to understand what has happened behind the scenes in politics."
A Project Built on Complexity
The square sits over an underground car tunnel, railway and metro station, and a maze of gas and water pipelines, which made the project difficult from the start. Planners also had to account for the security needs of the surrounding EU institutions and the square's use as a venue for frequent demonstrations. It lies within the security perimeter of the European Council building, the "space egg", which hosts regular summits of EU leaders.
An international competition selected a Belgian-Danish consortium of architects to redesign the space. The canopy was intended as the crowning glory. Planners imagined EU officials and local people lunching and chatting under its shelter, which was modelled on the European parliament's semi-circular chamber, the hemicycle. Tourists were expected to flock to the landmark and take selfies in its mirrored reflection. The green roof was meant to contrast with the surrounding glass and steel EU buildings and offer respite from the sun, especially after the record-breaking heatwave that hit Belgium in June. It was also meant to shelter people from Brussels weather, where it rains about 200 days a year.
Work began 3 years ago, six years after the winning design had been chosen. By then, costs had spiralled because of high Europe-wide inflation stoked by the Covid pandemic and the Ukraine war, city officials said. The budget was announced as €25m, with €17.4m from EU Covid recovery funds.
Governance Paralysis and Political Failure
Brussels' political crisis then deepened the problem. Power in Belgium is very decentralised, and regional governments, including Brussels, have wide-ranging controls over public works, most transport and urban planning. Brussels is a bilingual city with 14 parties in its 89-seat parliament. After Brussels elections 2 years ago produced no clear result, parties were deadlocked over a new government for the city of 1.2 million people. Big construction projects were put on hold and investments were frozen. A coalition led by a Francophone liberal minister-president finally emerged this year after a record-breaking 613 days of negotiations.
In the meantime, the caretaker government couldn't authorise new funds to pay for the higher costs of the canopy, but it also faced a deadline to complete the works in order not to lose EU funds. François Deschamps, a spokesperson for the Brussels minister for mobility and public works, Elke Van den Brandt, who has held the post since 2019, said: "So we were in quite a conundrum, because we did not have the right to put the money into the canopy."
The caretaker government appealed to the EU for a top-up 1 year ago. Belgium's prime minister, Bart De Wever, rejected the plea and denounced Brussels as "a failed state". De Wever, described as a fiscal conservative on a mission to bring Belgium's federal finances under control, argued that "begging" numerous European institutions for help was a national embarrassment.
The Canopy Cancelled
Taking office this year, the new Brussels government cancelled the canopy after its costs had risen to €13m from €5m, Deschamps said. The Brussels council of ministers decided, he said, "we could do something greener, something cheaper, and something that still fulfils the goal, which is to bring shade and refreshment". Brussels is now in talks with architects to develop "something as green as possible within the building limitations of the square", possibly with water features, Deschamps added. The city hopes the square will be finished in 2 years, with details on the plans promised by the end of the year.
Smet continues to argue for the canopy, while more than 2,100 people have signed a petition launched by the Brussels branch of his Flemish socialist party calling for its construction. He said: "If you can imagine something better, that allows demonstrations, [deals with] security issues, is green, is iconic, is symbolic for European unity … if the alternative is better, I will not say no."
Why This Matters:
Schuman Square's failure isn't just about a missing canopy. It's a vivid illustration of the governance crisis that plagues multi-level European politics when coordination breaks down. The project was meant to symbolise European unity and offer a public space for ordinary people in the EU quarter — a rare green, accessible meeting point in an area dominated by institutional buildings. Instead, political paralysis, budget constraints driven by post-pandemic inflation, and Belgium's notoriously fragmented coalition politics have left residents and workers with a barren concrete plaza. The fact that Brussels, the EU's de facto capital, couldn't deliver on a flagship urban renewal project that drew on EU recovery funds raises uncomfortable questions about democratic accountability and the capacity of European institutions to serve the people they represent. For a city that rains 200 days a year and is facing more frequent heatwaves, the absence of shade and greenery isn't just symbolic — it's a quality-of-life failure for the 1.2 million people who call Brussels home.