As a result of Brexit, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) will have to relocate its headquarters to a Member State of the European Union. Although the UK’s withdrawal is due to take place in approximately two years’ time, a date has already been set for the selection of the Agency’s new headquarters: October 2017.
This week, the Minister for Health, Dolors Montserrat, has travelled to Brussels to present Barcelona’s bid. Whilst there, he first met with the Secretary-General of the Council of the European Union, JEppe Tranholm-Mikkelsen. And with the European Commissioner for Health, Vytenis Andriukaitis.
Under the slogan “Barcelona is ready / Barcelona is ready / Barcelona està llesta”, the minister has advocated for the creation of a new headquarters in Barcelona. According to Montserrat, Barcelona has the “best scientific, hospital, pharmaceutical and biomedical research community in Europe. Furthermore, it has a wide range of accommodation options to cater for the thousands of researchers who visit the Agency every year. In addition to Spain, more than 15 EU member states have put themselves forward as candidates.
Selection criteria for the new headquarters of the European Medicines Agency
The European Union has published the criteria that will be taken into account when selecting the new headquarters. And, of course, there is a certain degree of consensus that Barcelona would meet them with flying colours.
The selection process will take the following aspects into account:
- Quality of life
- Availability of suitable premises
- Life Sciences and Healthcare Industry
- International connectivity and tourism offerings
- The labour market and access to education and healthcare
Barcelona: the new headquarters of the European Medicines Agency?
What do officials at the European Medicines Agency think?
The EMA has carried out an internal survey of 687 of its 890 employees. The fact is that the organisation’s management is somewhat concerned about the move to new premises. In fact, in a recent interview with Guido Rasi, for the Financial Times, the EMA’s executive director explained that up to 50% of staff could leave if they did not like the city to which they were being transferred.
In this regard, the internal survey shows very encouraging results for the Spanish bid. It is the preferred choice of the largest number of EMA staff, and as many as 78% would be willing to relocate to Barcelona. The Dutch and Austrian bids follow closely behind, with 75% and 71% respectively.
The leading candidate cities The cities currently in the running to host the EMA’s new headquarters are Barcelona, Amsterdam, Paris, Copenhagen, Stockholm and Vienna.
A history lesson: Barcelona’s bid in 1992
When the European Medicines Agency, several bids were also put forward. And even back then, Barcelona was one of the leading contenders. In the end, it came second, just behind London, the EMA’s current headquarters. We’ll have to wait and see what happens this time round.
From GTF M. Camps, we are backing Barcelona’s bid. We are a city that is becoming a global leader in health research. And we believe that the city fully meets, point by point, all the requirements set by the European Union. Barcelona is ready.