UK Edition
EU relocation looms for medicine and banking bodies
Two of the EU’s most prominent London-based agencies will find out tomorrow where they are being moved to amid warnings this could slow medicine approvals and risk patient safety.
In the clearest physical change yet from Brexit, the remaining 27 EU countries will vote in Brussels to determine where the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Banking Agency (EBA) will be relocated. Milan and Bratislava are Ladbrokes’ favourites to become the new home of the EMA, which is the larger of the two bodies with 900 staff.
Frankfurt and Vienna are tipped for the smaller EBA. A total of 23 cities from 27 countries – from Dublin toSofia, Athens to Stockholm – tabled bids to snap up the agencies.
Drug companies and the EMA have warned for months of the potential health risks of a mismanaged relocation of the EMA, which oversees the movement and safety of medicines across the continent. Drug firms fear candidate cities further away from London could have a lower staff retention level, leading to greater disruption.
A drug industry source told The Sunday Telegraph: “Whoever wins, it should be on the right criteria. Our main concern is to minimise impact on patients. “It’s a huge shift for the organisation. The fact there were 19 bids for the EMA underlines the importance of it and how people feel about it.”
The EBA sets the rules for Europe’s financial firms, including capital requirements and processes for sorting out failed EU banks. Candidate cities have used an array of tactics to entice staff from the two bodies, including promises of support, good schooling and Amsterdam’s assurance that “we also have a very stylish queen and enjoy fish and chips”.
Pharmaceutical and financial firms are pushing the Government for progress on Brexit talks as concerns grow that a lack of clarity by Christmas could lead to further relocation plans.