The Rue de la Loi (French, pronounced [ʁy d(ə) la lwa]) or Wetstraat (Dutch, pronounced [ˈʋɛtstraːt]), meaning "Law Street", is a major street running through central and eastern Brussels, Belgium, which is famous due to the presence of several notable Belgian and European Union (EU) governmental buildings.
The terms Rue de la Loi in French or Wetstraat in Dutch are used metonymically for government in Belgian politics and media because the Belgian Federal Parliament building (Palace of the Nation) stands at the beginning of this street and the office of the Prime Minister is located adjacent to this building, at number 16.
In April 2008, the Brussels-Capital Region (the regional authority), together with the European Commission and the City of Brussels (the local authority) launched an international urban design competition to redevelop the area as an eco-district, concentrating on improving pedestrian and public transport access.
They stated it should include more public spaces and have a "strong symbolic identity" with high environmental and architectural standards.
[3] In March 2009, a French-Belgian-British team led by the French architect Christian de Portzamparc won the competition, and European Commissioner for Administrative Affairs, Audit and Anti-Fraud, Siim Kallas, stated that the project, which would be put into action gradually rather than all at once, would create a "symbolic area for the EU institutions" giving "body and soul to the European political project" and providing the Commission with extra office space.
The road would be reduced from four lanes to two, and be returned to two-way traffic (rather than all west-bound) and the architects proposed a tram line to run down the centre.