The provisional opening of a new European School in Brussels in 2021 has been approved by the Council of Ministers.
The school will have a capacity to accommodate 1,500 students and will be located on the former NATO site, where the permanent school will be built. Once finished, it will be able to accommodate 2,500 students.
The opening of the school will enable Brussels to guarantee its status as a "leading diplomatic city," according to Koen Geens, the Minister responsible.
"The city provides a base for 5,400 diplomats and 20,000 lobbyists and is therefore the most important diplomatic city in the world. Its international character generates no less than 121,000 jobs and €5 billion in added value for the Brussels economy. We must continue to make the most of this status. Offering an international education plays an essential role in this," he said.
Originally, the European Schools educated the children of European civil servants in the country where they worked. However, the idea of a European school was so successful that several of them have been set up and opened up to a wider public.
These are officially recognised state schools offering nursery, primary and secondary education and are run under the umbrella of a European network. Courses are given in several languages, such as French, English and the native language.
There are currently 13 such schools, four in Brussels and one in the municipality of Mol. The others are in Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain and Italy.
The Brussels Times
