Brussels (Belgium) is considered the de facto capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting a number of principal EU institutions within its European Quarter. The EU has no official capital but Brussels hosts the official seats of the European Commission, Council of the European Union, and European Council, as well as a seat (officially the second seat) of the European Parliament. In 2013, this presence generated about €250 million (8.3% of the regional GDP) and 121,000 jobs (16.7% of the regional employment). The main rationale for Brussels being chosen as "capital the European Union" was its halfway location between France and Germany, the two countries whose rivalry played a role in starting the two World Wars and whose reconciliation paved the way for European integration. History Birth of the European Communities In 1951, the leaders of six European countries (Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, France, Italy and West Germany) signed the Treaty of Paris, which created the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC), and with this new community came the first institutions: the High Authority, Council of Ministers, Court of Justice and Common Assembly. A number of cities were considered, and Brussels would have been accepted as a compromise, but the Belgian Government put all its effort into backing Liège (Wallonia), opposed by all the other members, and was unable to formally back Brussels due to internal instability. Agreement remained elusive and a seat had to be found before the institutions could begin work, hence Luxembourg was chosen as a provisional seat, though with the Common Assembly in Strasbourg as that was the only city with a large enough hemicycle (the one used by the Council of Europe). This agreement was temporary, and plans were set to relocate the institutions to Saarbrücken (Germany), which would serve as a "European District", but this did not occur. The 1957 Treaty of Rome established two new communities: the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom). These shared the Assembly and Court of the ECSC but created two new sets of Councils and Commissions (equivalent to the ECSC's High Authority). Discussions on the seats of the institutions were left until the last moment before the treaties came into force, so as not to interfere with ratification. Brussels waited until only a month before talks to enter its application, which received unofficial backing by several member states. The members