Security scare sees EU Parliament evacuated

Policemen and a security officer stand outside a European Parliament building in Brussels after a security scare. Photo / AP

A suspect has been detained following a security scare that led to the evacuation of European Parliament buildings in Brussels.

The country has been on high alert since mid-January, when police carried out a series of raids, acting on information that a terrorist cell was on the verge of launching an attack. Two suspects were killed in one raid, in eastern Belgium.

Overnight NZ time, several of the parliament's administrative offices and its visitor centre were evacuated after a suspicious vehicle was found parked nearby. The main building was unaffected, parliament spokeswoman Marjory van den Broeke told DPA.

Brussels is home to many of the EU's main institutions.

The police later apprehended a suspect dressed in military uniform and behaving in a conspicuous manner, the Brussels prosecution services said according to Belga news agency. The man had a vehicle key on him.

Police and military explosives experts searched the suspicious vehicle, but no explosives were found, Belga reported. The security perimeter was lifted and people were allowed back into the buildings.

Earlier, another suspicious vehicle was spotted near the US embassy in Brussels, Belga reported. The car was later found to contain no dangerous items, and the alarm was lifted half an hour later.

- AAP