The European Commission has published its comments on the 19 cities bidding to host the new headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA), including Barcelona. The Catalan capital submitted its bid spearheaded by the City Council, the Government of Catalonia and the Spanish Government last June with support from 200 companies, organisations and figures from various economic sectors, including CataloniaBio.

The report assesses the bids based on six criteria, which include having an international airport, hotel capacity, international schools and housing for agency workers and their families. Barcelona stands out in terms of the facilities available, in the emblematic Torre Glòries, which would be ready for the EMA in late 2018.  

The Member States will debate the topic this October based on the information from the Commission and the final choice will be made in November.

Barcelona is one of the favourites, along with Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Vienna, Milan and Dublin.

The political uncertainty resulting from the independence process in Catalonia isn’t mentioned in Brussels’ assessment but many media outlets and opinion-leaders believe it could be detrimental to the city’s bid.

European Medicines Agency

The EMA is currently located in London and is responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines in the EU. It has 890 people on staff and its activity generates roughly 36,000 visits each year. The Agency is scheduled to leave the United Kingdom in March 2019 with the culmination of the Brexit process with which this country will no longer be a Member State.

Photo: Torre Glòries, Barcelona.