Construction work has begun on a £103 million building for the European Parliament, provoking an angry response from residents of Brussels and MEPs.
Atenor, the building’s developer, has admitted that the 12-storey block is at least 15 per cent more expensive than the average construction cost for office space in the European Union’s capital city.
An EU building boom has continued regardless of austerity measures, with projects including a £60 million House of European History and a £280 million urn-shaped “jewel case” site for summits.