The European Medicines Agency in Bucharest
Romania bids to host the European Medicines Agency after Brexit
Bogdan Matei, 25.07.2017, 13:36
A small Romanian government delegation went to London on Monday to plead for the relocation of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) to Bucharest, after Brexit. The Minister Delegate for European Affairs Victor Negrescu has told Radio Romania that national authorities have taken all the necessary steps in this direction. He has stated that Romanias application file is ready and will be submitted by the end of the month, in keeping with the EC requirements. Accompanied by the Health Minister Florian Bodog and the President of the National Medicines and Medical Devices Agency Nicolae Fotin, Negrescu presented the EMA officials with Romanias offer.
Victor Negrescu: “Our file is complete and meets all the criteria established by the European Commission. Therefore, we will be able to cover everything, from the capacity to start working from the very first day of the relocation, to logistics, staff training, facility provision or the capacity to host large-scale events in the field of public health.”
The Minister Delegate has also responded to those who doubt that authorities are capable of providing an adequate headquarters for the European Medicines Agency and ensure the rapid transportation of its staff.
Victor Negrescu: “The transportation issue has been solved. We also have a solution for accommodation. Also, we can provide a viable headquarters, with all the technical facilities and solutions needed, including high-speed internet connectivity, as stipulated in the tender dossier. Therefore, from a logistical point of view, we are well prepared, and we have good reasons to believe that our file is by no means less viable than other projects, from other countries.”
Also competing to become hosts of EMA are France, Sweden, Denmark, Hungary and Bulgaria, which have already presented their offers. Moreover, London itself would like to keep hosting the agency, even after Brexit. The interest in becoming host to the agency is high, given that the European Medicines Agency is a decentralized body of the EU whose main responsibility is the protection and promotion of public and animal health, through the evaluation and supervision of medicines for human and veterinary use.
The Agency has some 900 employees and it hosts annual events that gather more than 35,000 people. The European Commission will examine all the candidates proposals and will conduct its own evaluation by September 15th. The final decision will be made on the sidelines of the General Affairs Council in November.
