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AFP, Danny KEMP, August 1, 2017
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| 23 cities bid for London-based EU agencies after Brexit |
Brussels
(AFP) - The battle for the spoils of Brexit began Tuesday as 23 European cities
launched their bids to host two London-based EU regulatory agencies that will
be forced to leave the British capital.
Slick
videos and glossy brochures abounded as the EU announced that 19 cities were
candidates to be the new home of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), and eight
to host the European Banking Authority (EBA).
The bids
for the agencies -- which together employ more than 1,000 people and promise to
bring both money and prestige to the new host cities -- will be assessed by the
European Commission before EU states make a final decision in November.
The
deadline for applications was Monday at midnight for a race that, if it gets
heated, risks undermining the European Union's unity at a time when it is
trying to present a common front in divorce negotiations with Britain.
"We
will now proceed in assessing all offers in an objective manner," said
European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva.
The cities
seen as leading the race for the EMA are Amsterdam, Barcelona and Lille in
France, with Athens, Bonn, Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Dublin,
Helsinki, Milan, Porto, Sofia, Stockholm, Malta, Vienna, Warsaw and Zagreb also
in contention.
The agency,
which employs 900 pharmaceutical experts, biologists and doctors from every
corner of Europe, evaluates medicines throughout the bloc.
The German
financial hub of Frankfurt is the frontrunner for the EBA, followed by Paris
and Luxembourg and Prague, while Brussels, Dublin, Vienna and Warsaw have also
bid.
The EBA,
with 159 staff, is perhaps best known for its regular stress tests on the EU's
financial sector in the wake of the global financial crisis.
Europeans
not 'vultures'
Six countries
-- Austria, Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland and Poland -- have made bids for
both agencies. Hungary, Cyprus, Slovenia and the three Baltic states of
Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia have not bid for any.
Britain
will no longer be able to host the agencies as it is set to leave the EU in
March 2019 following its shock Brexit referendum vote last year.
"The
two agencies will need to be relocated in the context of the UK's withdrawal
from the EU. The future locations need to be decided by common agreement of the
EU27 member states," the European Council said in a statement.
The
European Commission's assessment will consider criteria such as accessibility
for current employees, work opportunities for their spouses and schools for
their children.
It will
also look at whether a country already hosts other EU agencies to ensure they
are not monopolised.
European
officials insisted that they were not trying to suck all business away from
Britain, which will inevitably retain close trading links with the huge EU
market on its border.
"Luxembourg
has not positioned itself as vultures circling round the Tower of London
waiting for all those jobs to fly out our way," Luxembourg's ambassador
George Friden told reporters in Brussels.
"The
Luxembourg financial centre has had what we view as a long and fruitful
relationship with the City of London and we very much wish for that to
continue."
'Stylish
queen'
The cities'
individual bids were all posted on the EU's website, with many trying to outdo
each other as they sought to position themselves as the natural choice.
"We
also have a very stylish queen, and enjoy fish and chips," said a video
for Amsterdam's bid, stressing the continuity with two famed parts of British
life.
Malta and
Warsaw meanwhile quoted testimony from happy expatriates, while the Danish and
Irish prime ministers acted as salesmen for their respective cities.
The choice
of new host cities will be made via a complicated points system that officials
have compared to the Eurovision song contest.
After the
commission assessment is published on September 30, European affairs ministers
will then vote on the final choice at a meeting on November 20.
Each
country will have six voting points -- three for its first preference, two
points for the second and one for the third.
If any one
gets the full three points from 14 or more members then it automatically wins
-- otherwise there is a second round for the top three candidate cities, and if
necessary a third and final knock-out between the last two cities.
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