AGL 38.16 Decreased By ▼ -0.06 (-0.16%)
AIRLINK 134.19 Increased By ▲ 5.22 (4.05%)
BOP 8.85 Increased By ▲ 1.00 (12.74%)
CNERGY 4.69 Increased By ▲ 0.03 (0.64%)
DCL 8.67 Increased By ▲ 0.35 (4.21%)
DFML 39.78 Increased By ▲ 0.84 (2.16%)
DGKC 85.15 Increased By ▲ 3.21 (3.92%)
FCCL 34.90 Increased By ▲ 1.48 (4.43%)
FFBL 75.60 Decreased By ▼ -0.11 (-0.15%)
FFL 12.74 Decreased By ▼ -0.08 (-0.62%)
HUBC 109.45 Decreased By ▼ -0.91 (-0.82%)
HUMNL 14.10 Increased By ▲ 0.09 (0.64%)
KEL 5.40 Increased By ▲ 0.25 (4.85%)
KOSM 7.75 Increased By ▲ 0.08 (1.04%)
MLCF 41.37 Increased By ▲ 1.57 (3.94%)
NBP 69.70 Decreased By ▼ -2.62 (-3.62%)
OGDC 193.62 Increased By ▲ 5.33 (2.83%)
PAEL 26.21 Increased By ▲ 0.58 (2.26%)
PIBTL 7.42 Increased By ▲ 0.05 (0.68%)
PPL 163.85 Increased By ▲ 11.18 (7.32%)
PRL 26.36 Increased By ▲ 0.97 (3.82%)
PTC 19.47 Increased By ▲ 1.77 (10%)
SEARL 84.40 Increased By ▲ 1.98 (2.4%)
TELE 7.99 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (5.27%)
TOMCL 34.05 Increased By ▲ 1.48 (4.54%)
TPLP 8.72 Increased By ▲ 0.30 (3.56%)
TREET 17.18 Increased By ▲ 0.40 (2.38%)
TRG 61.00 Increased By ▲ 4.96 (8.85%)
UNITY 28.96 Increased By ▲ 0.18 (0.63%)
WTL 1.37 Increased By ▲ 0.02 (1.48%)
BR100 10,786 Increased By 127.6 (1.2%)
BR30 32,266 Increased By 934.6 (2.98%)
KSE100 100,083 Increased By 813.5 (0.82%)
KSE30 31,193 Increased By 160.9 (0.52%)

The fight to host major EU regulatory agencies leaving London after Brexit reaches its climax Monday when ministers vote to choose new host cities in a perplexing process compared to the Eurovision song contest. The 27 EU affairs ministers meeting in Brussels will decide on how to resolve one of the collateral effects of the UK divorce: finding new locations for the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority, both currently located in London's high-rise Canary Wharf district.
There is "hot bargaining" behind the scenes, a diplomatic source told AFP, as hopeful EU governments jostle to secure the backing of other countries for agencies that promise both prestige and prosperity. The EU has given no indication of the top candidates, but British bookmaker Ladbrokes makes Bratislava, Milan and Amsterdam favourites to host the EMA, while Frankfurt, Vienna and Dublin lead the running for the EBA.
In total there are 19 candidates to be the new home of the EMA, one of the world's most powerful drugs watchdogs, which employs 900 pharmaceutical experts, biologists and doctors from every corner of Europe. There is a smaller batch of eight bidders for the EBA, the banking overseer with 159 staff. The EBA is perhaps best known for its regular stress tests on the EU's financial sector in the wake of the global financial crisis. Member states brought out all the stops to extol the merits of their candidate cities, producing glossy brochures and videos and offering a host of perks.
The Irish government has said it is willing to contribute 78 million euros over 10 years to cover costs, while Vienna promised a children's nursery, and Milan threw in access to a gym. Italy was even forced to deny press reports that it would increase its military contingents to the Baltic countries as a bargaining chip to promote Milan's candidacy.
In an unusually complex procedure - even for the EU - each member state will have a set amount of points to distribute in a secret ballot to determine the candidate cities. EU diplomats have compared the process to the annual Eurovision Song Contest, whose nail-biting televised voting sequence is one of the most watched TV moments in Europe, known for its come from behind surprises and mixture of backscratching and backstabbing.
The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, delivered an evaluation of the applications in September based on a range of criteria from transport links, to job prospects for spouses and schools. But the commission was careful not to formulate a preference, and member states are under no obligation to take that assessment into account in Monday's vote.
"The criteria will not only be about the intrinsic qualities of a particular candidacy," said France's EU Affairs Minister Nathalie Loiseau in an interview with the French daily La Croix. But the staff of the agencies in question, already being forced to up sticks from London, are reportedly nervous about any surprise victories.
The drugs agency was warned in an internal report that the choice of certain cities would result in "a retention rate of personnel well below 30 percent". No cities were named, but according to leaks in the press, Bratislava, Warsaw, Bucharest and Sofia stood out as the least popular. The complicated process makes any prediction of the outcome hazardous. In the first round, each country will have six points for each agency, including three to give to their first choice, two to their second and one to their third. If necessary, the process can go as long as three rounds, each with different rules and scheduled breaks during which ministers can consult their capitals. "Of course, many countries will vote tactically", a diplomatic source told AFP, adding that his country had resorted to studying "game theory" to be ready.

Comments

Comments are closed.