Schuman Roundabout or Schuman Square, is a roundabout

Roundabout

A roundabout is the name for a road junction in which traffic moves in one direction around a central island. The word dates from the early 20th century. Roundabouts are common in many countries around the world...

 at the end of Rue de la Loi in Brussels

Brussels

Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...

 that serves as a focus for major institutions of the European Union

Institutions of the European Union

The European Union is governed by seven institutions. Article 13 of Treaty on European Union lists them in the following order: the European Parliament, the European Council, the Council of the European Union, the European Commission, the Court of Justice of the European Union, the European...

 (EU).

It is named after Robert Schuman

Robert Schuman

Robert Schuman was a noted Luxembourgish-born French statesman. Schuman was a Christian Democrat and an independent political thinker and activist...

, one of the founding fathers of the European Union

Founding fathers of the European Union

The Founding Fathers of the European Union are a number of men who have been recognised as making a major contribution to the development of European unity and what is now the European Union. There is no official list of founding fathers or a single event defining them so some ideas vary.-Europe's...

 and gives its name to the surrounding district (also known as the European Quarter

Brussels and the European Union

Brussels is considered to be the de facto capital of the European Union, having a long history of hosting the institutions of the European Union within its European Quarter...

) and Schuman station

Schuman station

Schuman station is a railway and metro station in the City of Brussels. The metro station opened in 1969 and serves the European quarter of Brussels.-Metro:...

. The major buildings next to it are the Berlaymont building

Berlaymont building

The Berlaymont is an office building in Brussels, Belgium that houses the headquarters of the European Commission, which is the executive of the European Union...

, headquarters of the European Commission

European Commission

The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....

, and the Justus Lipsius building

Justus Lipsius building

The Justus Lipsius building is a building in Brussels that has been the headquarters of the Council of the European Union since 1995. Unlike the European Parliament, visiting is restricted...

, headquarters of the Council of the European Union

Council of the European Union

The Council of the European Union is the institution in the legislature of the European Union representing the executives of member states, the other legislative body being the European Parliament. The Council is composed of twenty-seven national ministers...

The roundabout is just to the east of the metro segment of Schuman station

Schuman station

Schuman station is a railway and metro station in the City of Brussels. The metro station opened in 1969 and serves the European quarter of Brussels.-Metro:...

, which connects to heavy rail. The station is undergoing renovation to improve its interchange and link it to a new regional railway via a new tunnel. There are already a web of rail and road tunnels running under and around the roundabout.

The area is to see some major rebuilding as EU offices are converted into shops and other civilian uses and the roundabout will be converted into one of three pedestrian squares, the theme of the new Place Schumanplein will concentrate on "policy and politics" (see Brussels and the EU#Future for details).

Roads meeting at the roundabout

Rue de la Loi / Wetstraat runs west-north-west towards the centre of Brussels, one-way. It also continues east-south-east for a short distance towards the western end of Cinquantenaire

Cinquantenaire

Parc du Cinquantenaire or Jubelpark is a large public, urban park in the easternmost part of the European Quarter in Brussels, Belgium....

 park. The bulk of the traffic on this main carriageway avoids the roundabout by taking the tunnel underneath, the road becoming Avenue de Tervueren / Tervurenlaan and heading out of Brussels east / east-south-east towards Woluwe-Saint-Pierre and eventually Tervuren

Tervuren

Tervuren is a municipality in the province of Flemish Brabant, in Flanders, one of the three regions of Belgium. The municipality comprises the villages of Duisburg, Tervuren, Vossem and Moorsel. On January 1, 2006, Tervuren had a total population of 20,636...

.

Kortenberglaan / Avenue de Cortenbergh leads north-east towards Schaerbeek and Place de Jamblinne de Meux. The Rue Belliard / Belliardstraat tunnel also follows this route, leading out towards Diamant premetro station

Diamant premetro station

The Diamant premetro station is a station on the Brussels Metro located in the municipality of Schaerbeek in Brussels, Belgium. It was inaugurated on May 2, 1972. The station is a "premetro" station. It is thus not used by conventional subway trains, but by Brussels trams...

 and the E40.

Archimedestraat / Rue Archimède leads north towards Square Ambiorix.

Avenue d'Auderghem / Oudergemselaan runs south-east through the middle of Etterbeek

Etterbeek

Etterbeek is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium. It neighbours the municipalities of the City of Brussels, Ixelles, Auderghem, Woluwe-Saint-Pierre, Woluwe-Saint-Lambert and Schaerbeek....

, towards the La Chasse junction and Auderghem

Auderghem

Auderghem or Oudergem is one of the nineteen municipalities located in the Brussels-Capital Region of Belgium....

.

Rue Froissart / Froissartstraat is one of the smaller roads leaving the roundabout, heading towards Place Jourdan.