Casa Europa
Casa Europa is located in the area of the former Tranqueira, a rudimentary fortress dated from 1769 and was built in the 19th C during Portuguese colonial times as the Barracks of the Portuguese Battalion. In 1895 the building became the Barracks of the infantry. After the Second World War the Infantry Barracks became the Barracks of the Artillery and in the sixties the building housed the Logistics and Services Detachment (Companhia de Intendência). In 1975 the Indonesian army installed a military unit in the building.
The first renovation of Casa Europa took place between 2000 and 2002. It was promoted by the World Bank and funded by the donors of whom the European Commission and the European Union were the largest. In 2007 the President and the Government of RDTL decided that the European Commission could establish their new Delegation in Casa Europa. On 24 November 2007 the building, at that time named Uma Fukun, was handed over by the President of RDTL, Dr. José Ramos-Horta to the President of the European Commission, Dr. José Manuel Durão Barroso and renamed “Casa Europa”.
The Government of RDTL and the European Commission agreed that Casa Europa would stay partially open for the public and that public events would be hosted in a designated area. The European Commission has honored this commitment by organizing exhibitions, seminars, events and film festivals. The renovation of Casa Europa started in January 2008 and was completed in September 2008. The Delegation of the European Commission moved its offices to Casa Europa in October 2008. Besides the Delegation of the European Commission, Casa Europa houses the offices of the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional para el Desarrollo (AECID) and the Bureau de la Coopération Française de l’Ambassade de France.
On 24 November 2008 Casa Europa was officially inaugurated by the President of RDTL, Dr. José Ramos-Horta and the European Commissioner for Development and Humanitarian Aid, Mr Louis Michel.