The decision to move the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from London to Amsterdam in view of Brexit will be investigated by a European Parliament delegation.
Leading the delegation is Giovanni La Via, who asked the Dutch ambassador to organise an inspection at the end of the month, after it emerged that the EMA would initially be placed in “not optimal” temporary accommodation in Sloterdijk.
As reported by Dutch News online, Milan was tied with Amsterdam as the EU member states’ favoured location for EMA after Brexit. However, the Dutch capital won on a draw in November 2017.
Public broadcaster NOS reports on February 9 that European Parliament faction leaders have now approved an investigation, after the Italian government and Milan city leaders called for the Amsterdam choice to be reversed.
At a press conference in The Hague in January, it was announced that the purpose-built EMA building in Zuidas would not be ready until November 2019. Instead, the Dutch government would rent a smaller site from January for the agency in Sloterdijk – at its own expense.
EMA executive director Guido Rasi admitted it was a compromise. “It’s not optimal: we only have half of the space compared to our current premises,” he said.
