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Brussels Overview and History

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Brussels is the capital of Belgium, the capital of the French Community of Belgium, the capital of the Flemish Community, and the de facto capital of the European Union. With all these titles, it’s easy to see why Brussels is called the capital of Europe. Brussels is also referred to as the largest municipality in the Brussels-Capital Region since it is located right in the center of Belgium. The Brussels-Capital region contains 19 municipalities, which together contain more than one million inhabitants.

Brussels is home to two of the three main institutions of the European Union: the European Commission and the Council of the European Union. The third institution is the European Parliament, and they also have a chamber in Brussels. Brussels is also the political seat of NATO, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the Western European Union (WEU), and EUROCONTROL, which is the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation. Because Brussels is the home to these organizations, many countries have three ambassadors stationed in Brussels. One functions as the normal bi-lateral ambassador, one as the EU-ambassador, and one as the NATO ambassador.

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