In 2004, the EU was to expand from 15 to 25 member states. In 2000, the EU Parliament requested a building permit to create more office and meeting room space, which would require the demolition of the abandoned Leopold Station. Sustained community rresistance to development plans in the European Quarter had predominantly been assumed by the residents’ association, the Association du Quartier Leopold (AQL) since its foundation in 1987, employing an impressive array of legal means, scientific experts and planning tools. The cultural collective BruXXel occupied the former station in 2001 aiming to highlight the gap between the EU institutions and its citizens and at the same time create a forum where European topics could be discussed in an alternative way. BruXXel had support from individual Members of the European Parliament as well as numerous French and Dutch-speaking social and cultural associations. The occupation of the site forced the European Parliament to organise a hearing where Brussels’ authorities, the developers, as well as the neighbourhood committees, were invited to express their views yet the lack of a deeper debate hindered consensus for eventual adaptations of the plans. Today the station has been relocated and only the façade has been preserved. What remains is being used as an information desk and exhibition space.