As the EC's Home Repairs Drag On...A Squabble over Summits Heats Up

Being mentioned in the Michelin Guide for five years running wasn't enough to save Mykonos Blue from going under. Like many of its Brussels neighbors, the Greek restaurant thrived on business from 3,000 European Commission officials working in the nearby Berlaymont building. But when Berlaymont was shut down in 1991 after asbestos was discovered, civil servants were deployed to several locations throughout the city. Although workers with meetings in town were initially bused back to the area at lunchtime, business was never the same. "We went from being full to being empty," says Lee Better, who ran Mykonos with her husband.

While Better was lucky enough to get out a few years ago and open a trendy American eatery in an artsy part of town, those left behind are still waiting--10 years later--for Berlaymont to reopen. Renovation of the 13-story building, dubbed "Berlaymonster" by critics, is three years behind schedule. A report by two Belgian senators puts the final price tag at $1.03 billion, compared with the government's original $149 million estimate. To the outside world, this may look like another EU boondoggle, but the real story is more complicated.