BARCELONA will find out today (Monday) whether it has been successful in its bid to become the new venue for the European Medicines Agency (EMA), currently based in London.
The EMA, along with the European Banking Authority (EBA), will be required to leave the British capital by the end of March 2019 when Brexit becomes official, since both organisations must be based in a European Union member State.
Barcelona was originally the favourite to host the EMA, although its candidature has taken a blow due to the political upheaval involving the Catalunya independence movement.
This said, according to EU leaders, it will be 'objective issues' and 'technical criteria' which decide the EMA's future location, among which will be a guarantee that the Agency can hit the ground running and continue its activity the very moment it has moved.
A secret vote will be held among EU bosses today to choose one of the 18 cities which have applied.
Up to three rounds of votes can be held if no single city comes out as favourite.
Barcelona is the only city in Spain which applied – although Madrid initially spoke to trying to become the new 'City of London' and host the EBA – and Spanish government spokesman Íñigo Méndez de Vigo admitted on Friday that the separatist struggle in Catalunya 'does not help in the slightest' in the region's bid to become the new EMA venue.
Until the lead-up to Catalunya's disputed independence referendum, Barcelona had the full support of Spain's government, but tensions between the two political bodies have weakened this united front.
The secession challenge is also a concern to the EU, as sources from Brussels have hinted, although these concerns have not been mentioned in the context of the EMA.
Still, the uncertainty surrounding the future of the north-eastern region remains 'the white elephant in the room', according to an undisclosed high-ranking EU civil servant.
Barcelona does, however, have a number of supporters in its application as EMA venue – Spain's neighbours France and Portugal, which have also applied, say they would be keen for Spain to win the vote if their own cities – Lille and Oporto - do not, and at least one other country, including Romania, is believed to be prepared to vote for Barcelona.
Germany is not among them, however – if its own candidate, the former West Germany capital of Bonn, does not win, it plans to vote for Milan, Italy, which is another of the favourites and which has presented a very strong case and active campaign in Brussels.
Among Barcelona's USPs in terms of hosting the Agency are the building proposed for its headquarters – the Glòries Tower – which is 'ready to set up the EMA today if necessary', according to the application.
Other strong points for Barcelona are its support from the Spanish Medications and Healthcare Products Agency, AEMPS, which is one of the most powerful in Europe and works very closely with the EMA, and also Spain's significant presence in the medicine industry.
Transport and hotel infrastructure to ensure easy access for the thousands of visitors from overseas the EMA hosts are essential criteria for the winning applicant, as well as international schools and adequate access to the job market, social security system and healthcare for the families of the 900-plus EMA employees who would be moving with the Agency to its new venue.
A reasonably central location within the EU is a desirable point, and Barcelona may fall down in that respect in favour of member States to the east, which as yet have no European agencies on their soil.
As a result, the Slovakian capital Bratislava is high on the list, despite its limitations in other areas.
Strong candidates which are otherwise weaker on the issue of central location, as well as Barcelona and Milan, are Amsterdam and Copenhagen.
Given that countries which do not currently house a European agency are more likely to be in favour, this could mean Barcelona falls down the list as EU organisms are already set up in Alicante, Bilbao, and Vigo (Galicia).
But for many reasons, Barcelona remains near the top of the list, and Spain would have been feeling very optimistic about today's vote if it were not for the Catalunya political crisis.
In fact, Barcelona came second to London when the EMA's original location was voted upon in 1995.
Representing Spain in the 18-country vote – previously 19 countries, but Malta has recently dropped out – will be national health minister Dolors Montserrat (pictured centre), who is from Catalunya herself, and Secretary of State for the EU, Jorge Toledo.
Prior to the voting, all member States apart from the UK – 27 in total – will discuss the current status of Brexit negotiations at the start of the meeting, from 15.00, meaning the ballots are unlikely to be cast much before 16.30, according to the Estonian government, whose turn it is at present to head up EU affairs.
Candidates will be presented in alphabetical order, which means Barcelona comes after Amsterdam and then Athens, but before Bonn, Bratislava, Brussels and Bucharest.
Other hitherto unmentioned candidates are Dublin, Helsinki, Valletta (Malta), Sofia (Bulgaria), Stockholm (Sweden), Vienna (Austria), Warsaw (Poland) and Zagreb (Croatia).
Madrid had discussed applying to host the EBA and is still keen to welcome banks wishing to leave the City of London, but has not done so; the vote is now between Brussels, Dublin, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Paris, Prague, Vienna and Warsaw.
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