MNI: EMA Warns Of Poss "Public Health Crisis" After Relocation

--Agency Forced To Move Post-Brexit Fears It May Not Function

--Some Cities Face Below 30% Staff Retention If Chosen

By Tara Oakes

     BRUSSELS (MNI) - The biggest of the two agencies forced to relocate from

London due to Brexit published a stark warning Tuesday that the health of EU

citizens will be at risk if certain candidate countries are chosen.

     A survey of staff indicated that less than 30% staff at the European

Medicines Agency would consider staying on if the wrong city were chosen. 8 of

the 19 candidate cities would retain so few qualified staff that it would result

in a "public health crisis", the results of the survey said. Just over 90% of

the around 900 staff responded.

     Risks are stark, according to the EMA, including "unravelling of the EU

single market for medicines" and a shortage of medicines available. The damage

to the system, they argue, would be "permanent".

     Even the best of the group -- 5 candidate cities -- would only manage

between 65-81% staff retention and would need between 2-3 years for a "full

recovery", according to the EMA.

     The EMA refused to confirm which cities were the top picks and which posed

the real public health risks. The European Commission is in the process of

assessing the bids of candidate countries and will present its findings on

September 30.

     "President Juncker has always stressed that we are talking about human

beings, not chess figures, and therefore the human dimension is one of the most

important ones in the relocation decision," the EC told MNI after the EMA's

survey was published.

     The cities bidding to host the EMA are Amsterdam, Athens, Barcelona, Bonn,

Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Lille, Malta,

Milan, Porto, Sofia, Stockholm, Vienna, Warsaw and Zagreb.

     The EMA is being forced to relocate as an EU agency based in London when

the UK becomes a third country. The smaller European Banking Authority will also

be relocated.

     After the EC's assessment, the ultimate decision on where to relocate is up

to the EU27 ministers at the General Affairs Council (Article 50) of November

2017.

--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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