The informal defence meeting of European Union leaders on 3 February will move from Limont Castle in Liège Province to the Egmont Palace in Brussels due to security concerns.
The spokesperson for European Council President Antonio Costa confirmed the change, noting that Costa initiated the meeting, with both NATO and the UK officials set to attend. It is the first of its kind.
"The meeting has been moved from Limont to the Palais d'Egmont following a reassessment of the measures needed to ensure the meeting's security," said spokesperson Maria Tomasik.
The search for a suitable venue for the informal defence summit was fraught with difficulties. In the end, it turned out that the eighteenth-century building was unsuitable for a meeting on such a sensitive subject.
Limont Castle. Credit: Visit Wallonia
The Palais d'Egmont in Brussels, the heart of Belgian diplomacy, has a reinforced security infrastructure and translation and interpretation services.
Antonio Costa had therefore initially invited the 27 European heads of state and government to the Château de Limont, an hour's drive from Brussels, for the meeting.
NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer will also be attending. In addition, the deliberation would be the first European summit after US President Donald Trump took office.
