Europa building in the context of "Rue de la Loi"

The General Secretariat of the Council of the European Union (GSC), also known as Council Secretariat, assists the Council of the European Union, the presidency of the Council of the European Union, the European Council and the president of the European Council. The General Secretariat is headed by the secretary-general of the Council of the European Union. The Secretariat is divided into eight directorates-general, each administered by a director-general. Other two departments are administered by deputy directors-general.

The Secretariat is based in Brussels, in the Europa building and the Justus Lipsius building. The respective secretariats of the Schengen Agreement and of now-defunct Western European Union and European Political Cooperation have along the years been integrated with the Council Secretariat.

The Justus Lipsius building, located in the European Quarter of Brussels, Belgium, was the headquarters of the Council of the European Union from 1995, and the de facto home of the European Council from 2002 (de jure as of 2004), until their relocation to the adjacent newly constructed Europa building at the beginning of 2017.

The building, which has a gross surface area of 227,278 m (2,446,400 sq ft), still provides for additional meeting rooms, office space and press facilities for both institutions. It consists of seventeen conference rooms with at least ten interpretation booths each, five other meeting rooms and two rooms for official meals. It also provides 40,048 m (431,070 sq ft) of offices for both institutions' shared General Secretariat. An onsite press centre is also featured, which can be extended during summits with up to 600 seats in the atrium. It is linked, via means of two skyways and a service tunnel, to the Europa building.