The European Quarter — EU Institutions & the Capital of Europe

Brussels is the de facto capital of the European Union — the seat of the European Commission (the executive body of the EU), the Council of the European Union, the European Parliament (which sits in both Brussels and Strasbourg), and approximately 1,000 other European and international institutions, plus over 1,400 lobbyist organizations: the European Quarter (Quartier Européen/Europese Wijk) — the dense cluster of EU institution buildings in the Ixelles/Etterbeek communes east of the historic centre — is the most important political neighbourhood in Europe.