Amsterdam wins bid to host EU medicines agency post-Brexit
(about 5 hours later)
A decision on the future location of two key European agencies will be made on Monday through a complex voting process.
Amsterdam has won a vote to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA) which will relocate from London after the UK leaves the European Union.
London is losing the European Banking Authority (EBA) and the European Medicines Agency (EMA) because of the UK's decision to leave the European Union.
The UK is losing both the EMA and the European Banking Authority (EBA) which employ around 1,000 people.
Sixteen cities are bidding for the EMA, while eight want to host the EBA.
Ministers from the 27 EU countries remaining in the bloc after the UK departs in 2019 have taken part in the secret ballot.
More than 1,000 people work for the two agencies in London.
They will now vote later on the new home for the EBA.
Ministers from the 27 EU countries remaining in the bloc after the UK departs in 2019 will take part in the secret ballot.
Some 16 cities bid for the EMA, while eight want to host the EBA - Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, Prague, Luxembourg City, Vienna and Warsaw.
The cities bidding for the EMA are: Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bonn, Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Lille, Milan, Porto, Sofia, Stockholm, Vienna and Warsaw.
Dublin, Zagreb and Valletta were also in the running but have now pulled out.
Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, Prague, Luxembourg City, Vienna and Warsaw are vying for the EBA.
No country is allowed to host both agencies.
The EMA is the more alluring of the two bodies, as it promises to make its new host into a hub for Europe's medical industry.
The EMA is the more alluring of the two bodies, as it promises to make its new host into a hub for Europe's medical industry.
UK betting company Ladbrokes makes Milan the favourite to win the medicines agency, followed by Bratislava and Amsterdam. It has Frankfurt - which produced a glossy video - as the frontrunner for the banking authority, followed by Vienna and Dublin.
The city that won the EMA must then drop out of the running for the banking authority.
However, diplomats say the outcome will be very difficult to predict. "Nobody really knows what is going to happen - they will be locked there for hours," one said.
Slovakia had been campaigning hard to make the case for relocating the EMA to Bratislava. Following its failure to win, diplomats say Slovakia may seek to cushion the blow by seeking support for its finance minister becoming chair of the Eurogroup, which runs policy for the eurozone.
A complicating factor could be the reluctance of many EMA staff to move to some of the 19 cities in the running. A staff survey found 72% would prefer to quit rather than move to Bratislava. Replacing them would delay drug approvals and patient safety checks.
Tomas Drucker, Slovakia's health minister, admitted that its capital could not compete with the likes of Barcelona or Milan "from a marketing point of view", he told EUObserver.
A first ballot, due to start at about 1500 GMT, will see ministers rank their top three choices.
Unless a majority makes the same first choice, a second vote among the best performing cities will follow, then a third-round runoff. If the voting is still tied, the Estonian meeting chairman will then draw lots.
The city that wins the EMA must then drop out of the running for the banking authority.
Slovakia has been campaigning hard to make the case for relocating the EMA to Bratislava. If it fails, diplomats say Slovakia may seek to cushion the blow by seeking support for its finance minister becoming chair of the Eurogroup, which runs policy for the eurozone.
