The competition to wrest two prestigious European Union agencies from London in the wake of Britain’s vote to leave the bloc is all set to step up with Milan’s new mayor Giuseppe Sala scheduled to fly into London.

More than 1,000 skilled staff from across the EU are employed combined by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA). As a result of the so-called Brexit decision, both are expected to relocate.

The two agencies are in demand for their potential to act as hubs for finance and pharmaceuticals, two of Europe’s most important industries apart from their jobs that are always in demand for job seekers.

In the knowledge that banks and drugmakers will want to maintain close ties with key regulators EU members seek to grab one or other organization and this race has set off a battle from Madrid to Stockholm to Warsaw.

The mayor’s office said that during his one-day trip, which was arranged by the Italian ambassador in London, Sala will meet the heads of the EBA and EMA.

A one-time head of the Italian Medicines Agency, Guido Rasi, is the executive director of the EMA and former Bank of Italy regulator Andrea Enria chairs the EBA and hence both the bodies have Italians in top positions. They also have a lot of Italians working for them in London.

Apart from the former Expo trade fair area he believes would make an ideal location for the EU bodies, Sala’s sales pitch for Milan includes the city’s attractive lifestyle and convenient location.

However horse-trading between European politicians and other cities that are also keen would be the ultimate deciding factors for the decision on the future location of the EBA and EMA.

While an EU official said last week that the EBA would likely relocate to either Paris or Frankfurt as it, which employs 160 staff, has already said it will have to move.

Depending on the terms of Brexit, the extent to which London’s financial district can expect to be frozen out of EU financial regulation and possibly from Europe’s capital markets is highlighted by its departure from Britain.

While Poland argues it is time to recognize the importance of central European nations outside the euro zone, governments in Italy and Spain base their case in part on the belief that they do not have their fair share of big EU organizations.

The establishment of a working group to bid for the EBA and EMA was announced last week by Spain’s Deputy Prime Minister Soraya Saenz de Santamaria.

While Stockholm and Copenhagen are both keen to house the EMA, others lobbying in the wings for the EBA include Amsterdam, Luxembourg, Dublin and Vienna.

It is still awaiting guidance from Brussels on its future, says the EMA, which employs 890 people including temporary staff. However once Britain invokes Article 50, the EU treaty clause triggering exit negotiations, it will have to move, believes many pharmaceutical executives.

But the work of the agency, which has acted as a one-stop-shop for drug approvals for two decades and also relies heavily on input from British experts, could be disrupted after it moves from London and this is a big concern for the drugs industry.

(Adapted from Reuters)

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