Global True Lithuania Encyclopedia of Lithuanian heritage worldwide

Belgium

Brussels, the capital of Belgium, is the center of two major international organizations: the European Union and NATO. Lithuania has been a member of both organizations since 2004. Lithuanian politicians participate in these institutions as per their treaties, Lithuanian citizens also work in clerk and back-office jobs, while the interests of Lithuania are additionally safeguarded by two diplomatic representative offices (equal to embassies in rank).

It is estimated that in total 10% (200 000) of Brussels population are expatriates with their work related to international organizations (their members, workers, journalists, advisors, etc. Lobbyists alone number 20 000). Furthermore, 50% of the population are immigrants with works not directly related to international organizations.

Brussels capitalizes heavily on its "Capital of Europe" image. Various public places bear flagpoles with flags of every European Union member state, including Lithuanian. Words and placenames in various foreign languages (among them Lithuanian) are used for architectural decor in main locations

Mini-Europe theme park in Brussels

The most popular EU-related attraction in Brussels is the Mini-Europe theme park which contains 1:25 miniatures of some 350 famous buildings from 80 cities all over the EU. Lithuania is represented by a miniature of Vilnius University Renaissance campus. It stands next to the Latvian (Riga Freedom Statue) and Estonian (fragment of Tallinn fortification) miniatures. All three are linked by a chain of miniature "people" symbolizing the Baltic Way, a protest against the Soviet occupation which took place in 1989. On that day some 2 million people from all three countries (equalling to 36% of their total ethnic population at the time) joined hand-in-hand from Vilnius to Riga to Tallinn. This was the first such protest in the world and it was later emulated in places such as Taiwan and Israel but the sheer number and percentage of participants were never matched.

A miniature of Vilnius University at the Mini-Europe park. Baltic Way is visible in the lower left of the image. ©Augustinas Žemaitis.

A visitor may also listen to the Lithuanian anthem at the Mini-Europe park and read some interesting facts on Lithuania. While the older EU members have up to 10 miniatures each in the Mini-Europe park, Lithuania is unlikely to get new miniatures as the park has expanded to its territorial limits.

Traces of Lithuania at the EU institutions in Brussels

Brussels is home to the main institutions of the European Union. As per the European Union treaties, Lithuania is represented in each of them by politicians (see below).

A much larger number of Lithuanians (more than 1000) work directly for these EU institutions, for example, as interpreters or clerks, as these institutions are staffed by citizens from all over the European Union. Lithuanians who work for the EU institutions are not employed by or representing Lithuania; they are responsible directly to these EU institutions as career employees there and their jobs are unrelated to the elections or political situation in Lithuania.

Each of the key EU institutions has large buildings in Brussels. These buildings are, however, mostly modern in style and lack symbols of European Union member states in their design. That said, as time passes, the number of various artworks and symbols slowly increases in the interiors of some of them.

European Parliament buildings

These are the main EU institutions in Brussels:

The Council of the European Union is one of two legislatures of the European Union. Here, every country is represented by a single person but they have unequal voting power based on the population of their countries. Unlike in the other institutions, there are no permanent members who reside in Brussels. Instead, each EU member state delegates its different minister to every meeting, depending on the decisions being made in the particular meeting. Moreover, there is a European Council, where the heads of member states meet in a similar fashion, setting the political course of the European Union.

European Parliament, which has a constant membership of elected members. 11 out of 720 members are elected in Lithuania. The parliament operates in two cities – Brussels and Strasbourg (France), having buildings in each and its staff always travels between the two. While Strasbourg is meant to be the main HQ of the parliament, the Brussels building is arguably more famous and the majority of the parliament’s work is done here. This building is also the one among the EU institution buildings that has the most Lithuanian details within it. One of its corridors was renamed The Baltic Way (La Voie balte) and a plaque commemorating this was unveiled within. Under a symbolic plate with people holding hands, an inscription in 6 languages (English, French, German, Estonian, Latvian, Lithuanian) declares that it celebrates Europe’s longest human chain, The Baltic Way of August 23, 1989, which ran 600 kilometers from Tallinn through Riga to Vilnius, for freedom. There are also some Lithuanian works of art on the walls of the European Parliament.

Baltic Way at the European Parliament

Baltic Way sign at the European Parliament

European Committee of the Regions and European Economic and Social Committee, where Lithuania delegates 18 (out of 688) and 9 (out of 344) members respectively.

European Commission is effectively the “government” of the European Union. It has 27 Commissioners, one from each country (including Lithuania), and these Commissioners each have their own minister-like portfolio and are obliged to serve the Union rather than their own countries.

As Lithuanian is one of the 23 official languages of the European Union the EU institutions also have their Lithuanian name written on their entrance plaques while many EU regulations and directives are translated into Lithuanian. This requires a strong interpreters' team - in the European Parliament alone there are at busy times as many interpreters working as there are MPs (~750). However, while the main European Parliament plenary sessions and the EU regulations and directives are translated into all the EU official languages, smaller work meetings are typically not translated into Lithuanian or other “smaller” EU languages.

Entrance sign at the European Parliament with the institution's name listed in every official language of the EU

Plenary Sessions hall of the European Parliament, with the interpreter booths lining the side floors in two floors, each booth dedicated to a particular language

Uniquely, Brussels also hosts European schools where children of EU employees from all EU member states (including Lithuania) can get education in their native languages according to their national school programs taught by their teachers (Lithuanian in the case of Lithuania). Each country is assigned to one or more European schools. This is among the facts that make the Lithuanian community of Brussels unique, as they tend to have a closer relationship to Lithuania than other Lithuanian diaspora, effectively being both emigrants and not emigrants at the same time, as their work is related to an international organization Lithuania is a member of. They are creating regulations that directly apply to all EU member states, including Lithuania. Various European Union institutions in Brussels are essentially serving as “extensions” of the political system of Lithuania (and that of other EU member states), establishing rules that Lithuania’s parliament is not allowed to establish or change by the EU treaties and their interpretations.

Lithuanian diplomatic missions in Brussels

Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the European Union is located in a late 19th century house at Rue Belliard 41-43. Also housing the Lithuanian embassy to Belgium in a modern annex, this is one of the largest Lithuanian governmental real estate properties outside Lithuania. The Permanent Representation to the EU alone has more than 100 employees whose job is to represent Lithuanian interests and follow the developments in the EU institutions reporting back to Lithuania.

Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the European Union

Built in 1872-1876, the building of the Permanent Representation of Lithuania to the European Union is one of the last historic buildings in the district, now surrounded by towering modern buildings. That is because in Brussels it is quite common to demolish old buildings; many historic buildings, including an old convent, were demolished in order to build the EU institution buildings, and most counties operate their permanent representations in modern buildings as well.

Courtyard of the Permanent Representation

Recognized as heritage, the Lithuanian building has many original interiors and even furniture in what used to be a hotel until 1956. To preserve the historical Belgian interiors, no permanent Lithuanian details were added but, rather creatively, some rooms are lit in such a way that Lithuanian ethnic patterns would become visible on the walls when the light is on. In the courtyard, the Grand Duchy of Lithuania's historic flag is flying.

One of the rooms with the lighting in Lithuanian ethnic patterns

The current building of the Representation is the second Lithuanian building in Brussels. With Brussels being the center of the European Union and NATO, two organizations Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia hoped to join right from their 1990 independence restorations, the three nations together opened their information office in Brussels in 1991-1992, followed by a Lithuanian embassy in 1993 – however, at the time Lithuania was a poor country, these missions lacked their own buildings. Understanding the importance of the Lithuanian representation in Brussels, Lithuanian-Canadians collected money (2 million USD) for Lithuania to acquire its own embassy building which opened in 1996. When Lithuania joined the EU in 2004, however, that building became far too small, and it was replaced by the current one. The original building was sold with only flag mast hosts now reminding it used to be an embassy.

The old embassy of Lithuania in Brussels

There is also a third diplomatic mission of Lithuania in Brussels, making Brussels a city that has more such missions than any other city in the world. That third mission is the Permanent delegation of the Republic of Lithuania to NATO located in the NATO HQ, inaccessible to general public.

Lithuanian crosses in Duffel

Duffel town north of Brussels has two Lithuanian-made crosses located in the Convent van Betlehem. Only one of them (built by Jonas Tvardauskas in 2010 and inscribed “Lietuva Anykščiai”) is in the publicly-accessible front yard, serving as a place for Lithuanian activities. The other one (built by Rimantas Zinkevičius in 2017) is in the convent’s private area.

Lithuanian cross in Duffel

Duffel never had a Lithuanian community and the crosses are actually a result of work done by a Belgian wife and husband, Francina Baeten Van Den Brande and René Verbeke. They became acquainted to Lithuania in 1993, when a Lithuanian folklore group “Jievaras” came to Duffel folk festival and stayed in their home. After that, Francina and René participated in charity missions to Lithuania and organized Lithuanian events in Duffel. As Francina was educated in the convent’s school, she also retained relationship with the convent for all her life, with the convent helping collect charity for Lithuania. One of the sisters of the convent asked her to bring the cross from Lithuania for the convent, which Francina did.