The EU unveils its eco-friendly €321m 'Space Egg' HQ in Brussels.

Building eco-friendly infrastructure is a good thing- Wasting money in times of scarcity is not.

In truth, standing out between the Rue de la Loi and Chausée D’Ettereek in the European Quarter of Brussels, the building looks quite impressive. As the EU unveiled their futuristic €321m headquarters, smirking and somewhat deluded Eurocrats remarked that the building symbolized the “joy” in what could be described as difficult and tumultuous times amid the rise of divisive public anger against Brussels.

“Joy”’ for the Eurocrats is represented in the form of a glass lantern-shaped structure, lodged inside a cube made of recycled window frames sourced from the 28 nations that form the EU bloc. Officially named the Europa building, the press have been quick to name it the “Space Egg” due to the peculiarity of its appearance. At the heart of the building, which will be used mainly by the European Council and will hold its first meetings in January, future summit leaders will hold their crises talks in a central room decked out in colourful rainbow carpets and tiles.

The core of the “space egg”, expertly designed by Belgian architect Philip Samyn, is the shape of a lamp, an essential feature for the architect who was determined to conjure a “friendly” and “united” aura to the Council's circular summit room, wedged within the confines of a square building.

Friendliness isn’t the only the symbolism Samyn seeks to achieve with his oeuvre: His 11 story edifice, which follows the route of other EU buildings such as the European Investment Bank in adding as many windows as is humanly possible, 3,750 on the facade to be precise, aims to represent union and a “very clear message about transparency in the union: with all that is happening, people don't realise the good that the European Union is giving to the people".

Clear as it may be, the real positive note of this news is the eco-friendly nature of the building, an allusion to the “diversity” and “unity” of the EU, as the windows have been fabricated from recycled materials from different countries. However the real question lies in the need to spend such a high cost in a building which has also caused several construction delays and was €95m over budget, at a moment when the EU appears to be cash-strapped, submerged with spending cuts and caught in tension.

Rotten egg?- What’s the point?

Some points need to be clarified. I am an environmentalist and I was against Brexit. But that doesn’t mean that anything can be justified by adding the tag of eco-friendly. As somebody who has had first-hand experience of the disloyalty and artificialness of eurocratic environments, and as somebody who is currently unemployed, the “Space Egg” seems to be little comfort to me and my fellow Spaniards, Portuguese and Greek colleagues who are jobless. Nor is it a relief to the serious issues regarding climate change that has recently been brought up during COP22 in Marrakech. The project is useless.

With the EU embroiled in chronic economic problems, and with the shadows of anti-euro parties looming in France and Germany, and instability in Italy, the fat cats with high salaries and never ending coffee breaks, have been quick to point out the “good that the European Union is giving to the people”, amidst populist anti-EU sentiments.

Populist is the new deplorable. Brussels and part of the press have been quick to include obtuse UKIP voters, racist European nationals and Daily Mail worshippers in the same bag as disenchanted Europeans who have tired of waiting for brighter days from EU technocrats with myopia towards anything beyond their paychecks. The new name tag: populist.

Under this panorama, the EU has reacted to this disenchantment, arisen from their own failed policies and frameworks, with an even more EU response: more spending, more policies, more waste. Labelling this vanity project under the tag of eco-friendly infrastructure, doesn’t quite cut it. The “Space Egg” is rotten, and the EU needs to sort out its policies, projects and priorities, in order to gain the prosperity, unity and recognition they seek to claim.