BRUSSELS WATCH: 23 Cities Bidding For EMA, EBA Post-Brexit -EU

By Tara Oakes

     BRUSSELS (MNI) - A total 23 cities from across the European Union are

bidding to host one or both of the agencies destined to leave the UK after

Brexit.

     Of that, 19 cities have thrown their hat into the ring to be the new home

of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and 8 for the European Banking Authority

(EBA).

     Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Paris, Prague, Luxembourg, Vienna and Warsaw

all sent in applications to host the EBA before the deadline passed at midnight

on Monday.

     Luxembourg have touted their credentials as a potential EBA host due to

experience of hosting agencies -- as well as tabling an offer to house the EBA

rent-free.

     A Luxembourg official on Tuesday could not confirm how long the offer of

free rent would stand for.

     "I think sorting out the precise aspects of all that will be something that

has to come up later in the discussion," he said.

     The official added that Luxembourg had the advantage of an already-existing

financial "ecosystem" with a large pool of potential future employees.

     "We are not talking about starting from scratch here," the official added,

stressing that the agency is already operational and could continue to be so

when Brexit hits.

     Dublin, Vienna, Warsaw and Brussels are also bidding to be home of the

larger EMA, which will be awarded first in the process. No country can host both

agency as per the agreement reached at the EU Council in June.

     Athens, Barcelona, Bonn, Bratislava, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Helsinki,

Lille, Milan, Porto, Sofia, Stockholm, Malta and Zagreb are also bidding for the

EMA.

     The European Commission will now assess the applications according to six

criteria and present their deliberations on September 30. The General Affairs

Council will then discuss the EC's findings and vote on the new homes for the

agencies in November.

--MNI Brussels Bureau; +44 203-865-3851; email: tara.oakes@marketnews.com

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

[TOPICS: M$B$$$,M$E$$$,MC$$$$,MI$$$$,MGB$$$]