BRUSSELS WATCH: Luxembourg Launches EBA Bid As Deadline Nears

By Tara Oakes

     BRUSSELS (MNI) - Luxembourg officially launched its application to host the

European Banking Authority Monday, joining other cities keen to profit from the

departure of key European Union agencies from the UK.

     Both the EBA and the European Medicines Agency are up for grabs after the

bloc decided that neither can remain in London when the UK officially leaves,

scheduled for March 2019. Cities have up until midnight Monday to present their

application to host an agency.

     "Luxembourg is the natural choice to host the EBA, not only to ensure

complete business continuity, but also to allow the agency to pursue a

harmonious development and its staff to thrive in a multilingual and

multicultural environment," Luxembourg's Finance Minister Pierre Gramegna said

in a statement.

     Luxembourg is jostling with high-profile contender Frankfurt to house the

EBA, with bids from Dublin and Prague already confirmed.

     The Managing Director of Frankfurt Main Finance, Hubertus Vaeth, told MNI

in June that the German government was throwing its weight behind Frankfurt's

EBA bid rather than Bonn's entry to host the EMA. No country can host both

agencies. 

     Bids are set to be reviewed by the European Commission over the summer and

voted on in a General Affairs Council (GAC) meeting in November. The larger EMA

will be awarded first, striking out the winning country from hosting the EBA.

     More cities have so far launched official bids for the EMA than the EBA,

with the list including Copenhagen, Lille, Athens and Milan.

     Once the deadline passes at midnight, lobbying will begin in earnest to

host the lucrative prizes. Contenders will have to prove they meet six criteria

laid out by the European Council in June, including accessibility, availability

of facilities for staff and their families -- and a reassurance that operations

could be up and running on the date Brexit hits.

--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

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