Brussels: Nato will host a summit of leaders including US President Donald Trump in May at its new Brussels headquarters, even though it will not be ready by then, officials and sources said yesterday.
Security and IT systems at the $1.2bn headquarters in the Belgian capital are behind schedule and so the transatlantic military alliance will only properly move in come September, sources said.
Belgian Prime Minister Charles Michel said on Twitter early yesterday the meeting of 28 leaders would take place on May 25 and that the building would be opened then.
“Very pleased to welcome my colleagues for the next Nato summit in Brussels on 25th May and opening of new headquarters,” Michel tweeted.
But Nato would not confirm the date or the venue, saying only Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and Trump had agreed by phone on Sunday that the summit would be in late May.
“Consultations on exact date are ongoing among allies. As to the summit venue, we aim to hold it at the new Headquarters,” a Nato official said.
A source close to the matter said Nato aimed to inaugurate its new building after the summer holidays, “in my view more like the end of September.”
‘Slightly behind schedule’ -
Nato spokeswoman Oana Lungescu said earlier that the move would be a “complex logistical undertaking” involving more than 4,000 Nato staff and delegations from the 28 allies.
“The move to the new Nato headquarters has started and it’s due to be completed later this year,” she said in a statement.
