The Centre Jean Gol, a liberal think tank with close links to the Belgian ‘Mouvement Réformateur’ political party, has co-organised a conference on the hosting of European institutions in Brussels with the European Liberal Democrat and Reform Party. The event, entitled ‘Brussels, capital city of Europe at the heart of liberalism’, took place on Friday 9 November. Hervé Hasquin, the chief executive officer of the Centre Jean Gol, opened the session, which was chaired by Bernard Clerfayt, mayor of Schaerbeek, the second biggest of the 19 municipalities that make up the Brussels Capital Region. ELDR President Annemie Neyts, who was born in Brussels and grew up in the European quarter, was the first keynote speaker. She told the audience that Brussels has gained a lot from the presence of the European institutions. “Brussels would be like any middle-sized capital city in Europe without the presence of the EU and NATO.”