One month after attacks, a worried Brussels carries on

Increased police and army patrols, in place since the November attacks in Paris, are a familiar sight on the streets and public places of Brussels. But a military spokesman told broadcaster BX1 this week that the security presence could not continue indefinitely. Deployment since January has already cost the government 12 million euros ($13.5 million); that figure was 17 million for all of 2015.

The Brussels regional transport authority, the STIB-MIVB, announced Friday that the Maelbeek metro station will reopen to the public next week. The transport network has largely resumed normal operations, though service on the metro is still limited. Ahead of Monday's reopening, members of parliament visited the station to pay tribute to the 16 people killed in a blast during morning rush hour.

The Brussels Zaventem airport, site of two bomb attacks in the departures hall that killed 16 people, was severely damaged. The airport was closed for 12 days following the attacks. Today, passengers - around half the usual number - are thoroughly screened in two large white tents before being granted access. The airport expects to be "100 percent operational" in June, though with basic services.

Since the attacks and the airport closure, the drop in tourism has been "catastrophic," said Sophie Blondel, of the Brussels Hotel Association. She told the French-language daily "Le Soir" that business has dropped by 40 percent. In an attempt to win back anxious tourists, Brussels authorities will suspend city tax on hotels for a limited time and have proposed free transport passes for visitors.

Businesses have also been hit, with one souvenir shop owner near the famed Manneken Pis statue telling DW that his store, crammed with mugs, postcards and discount chocolates, had been "very calm in the last few weeks." He hoped, however, that things were starting to get back to normal. According to the Brussels Chamber of Commerce, about 10,000 jobs are at risk - and 20 percent of Belgium's GDP.

Restaurant owners in the center, already finding it hard to attract customers amid widespread construction and tunnel repairs, have also seen a drop in clientele. According to figures in "Le Soir," nearly three-quarters of restaurants surveyed have had a decrease of more than 20 percent over the past year. Earlier this week, Mayor Yvan Mayeur was kicked out of a struggling restaurant in protest.

With the terror threat still at the second-highest level, authorities worry about the summer's major events. This week, summer music festival organizers announced that purses and backpacks would be banned, following the lead of football clubs. In Brussels, security officials are ramping up for two major events in early May: the Fête de l'Iris music festival and the Belgian Pride LGBT festival.

Brussels plans to devote 400,000 euros (about $450,000) to help performance spaces reinforce their security measures, "a strong message" for the ailing cultural sector, said Rudi Vervoort, head of the Brussels regional government. Meanwhile, in the neighborhood of Molenbeek, a new museum dedicated to urban art opened its doors last weekend - an attempt to shift the focus from terrorism.

Security officials also have their eyes on Belgium's seven nuclear reactors after reports last week that Salah Abdeslam, a major suspect in the Paris attacks who had been hiding in Brussels, had apparently been gathering information on German facilities. According to Belgian media, one jihadi spent three years working at the Doel nuclear site near Antwerp, home to Belgium's oldest reactors.

Transport Minister Jacqueline Galant quit last week after allegations of lax security at the Brussels airport during her tenure, the first political casualty since the attacks. Following her resignation, Interior Minister Jan Jambon stoked fires by telling a Flemish paper that "a significant section of the Muslim community danced when attacks took place," comments he refused to retract.

Amid security concerns, economic fallout and political fracas, tourists and locals continue to gather at the Beursplein/Place de la Bourse one month later to reflect and remember the victims. Fresh flowers and new notes of support are placed over the old, as the city tries to carry on living.