Exhibition
During the 1960s and 1970s, much of the work of the European institutions began to be concentrated in Brussels. By the early 1980s, the arrangement in place today had effectively been established: Parliament’s committee work and group meetings are held in Brussels. While the main plenary sessions are based in Strasbourg, additional sittings are organised regularly in Brussels. The first official plenary session to be held in Brussels took place on 29-30 September 1993.
The SPAAK building
The SPAAK building, opened in 1993, is named after former Belgian Prime Minister Paul-Henri Spaak, who was instrumental in the construction of Europe. It houses the Brussels hemicycle, where Members meet regularly for additional plenary sessions.
Paul-Henri Spaak was a passionate European who shaped much of the development of the European institutions, not least through his presidency of the Common Assembly of the European Coal and Steel Community.
This draft Treaty [on a European Political Community] is not only a moving message of reconciliation; it testifies to our confidence in the future.
Paul-Henri Spaak, 9 March 1953
Palais des Congrès
Before 1993, the European Parliament met for an additional plenary session only once in Brussels, at the Palais des Congrès, on 27 and 28 April 1983.