BARCELONA has fallen at the first hurdle in its quest to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA) once it leaves London at the end of March 2019 due to Brexit.
European Union leaders voted this afternoon (Monday) on which of the candidate cities would become the new venue, with up to three rounds of votes permitted if a clear winner did not emerge immediately.
Barcelona had been among the favourites, since it had come second to London when the EMA was set up in 1995, and its strong points include close industry ties and support through the Spanish Association of Medications and Healthcare Products (AEMPS), excellent transport links and hotels, and a fully-equipped headquarters – the central Glòries Tower – ready to hit the ground running as soon as the agency exited Britain.
But in the first round of votes, Barcelona fell behind Milan, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Bratislava (Slovakia), the latter being a strong candidate because of its location, being very central.
The northern Italian city got 25 votes compared with Amsterdam's and Copenhagen's 20 and Bratislava's 15, whilst Barcelona only gained 13.
In the second voting round, Amsterdam emerged as clear victor ahead of Milan and Copenhagen.
Athens (Greece), Bonn (Germany), Brussels (Belgium), Bucharest (Romania), Helsinki (Finland), Lille (France), Oporto (Portugal), Sofia (Bulgaria), Stockholm (Sweden), Vienna (Austria), Warsaw (Poland), Zagreb (Croatia), Dublin (Republic of Ireland), and Malta – which did not specify a city but which is likely to have been its capital, Valletta – were the remaining candidates.
The EMA has 890 employees and is visited annually by 35,000 experts from all over the world.
It is thought that the Catalunya political crisis may have weakened Barcelona's chances, since it appeared very likely indeed back in the summer that the city would have been granted the honour.
Also this afternoon, EU leaders will vote on which city will become the new venue for the European Banking Authority (EBA), a financial services regulatory body with 159 employees currently based London but which will have to leave the UK ahead of Brexit.
Madrid, which aspires to become the new 'City of London' and is keen to attract banks seeking to leave the British capital in order to stay in the EU, had planned to bid for the EBA initially, but did not do so in the end.
