Nato begins 12-week move for 4,000 staff

Moving 4,000 staff into a brand-new office is no small task - even if the new location is just across the road.

Nato on Monday began a 12-week staged move into its new state-of-the-art headquarters in Haren, on the Boulevard Leopold III heading to Brussels airport.

The international organisation is leaving behind its old site in Evere which it has occupied since 1967. A few hundred workers have already made the move - and all 4,000 should be in place in time for mid-June.

"We are entering the final phase of the move," said Nato secretary general Jens Stoltenberg. "It is a state-of-the-art, environmentally friendly building that brings the Alliance's home into the 21st century."

A formal inauguration is planned during the Nato summit planned for 11-12 July.