Brussels issues UK £520m bill for relocation of European Medicines Agency
Updated : 15:53
The cost of moving the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from London after Brexit has skyrocketed to £520m, it emerged on Wednesday.
Amsterdam, Barcelona, Copenhagen, Dublin, Lille, Porto, Stockholm and Bratislava are just some of the 19 cities revealed on Tuesday that are competing to host the organisation, which is a decentralised agency of the European Union responsible for the scientific evaluation, supervision and safety monitoring of medicines developed by pharmaceutical companies for use in the EU.
The EU, which has given Britain no option on keeping the organisations, has said that 60% of the costs are a direct result of the rental agreement on the EMA's offices in Canary Wharf.
It had neglected to allow for a "break clause" in the contract, which means that EU taxpayers would be required to foot the bill on the premises until June 30, 2039.
“One of the ludicrous ironies of Brexit is we could end up having to pay large amounts of money to lose highly skilled jobs and research capacity from the UK,” Liberal Democrat MP and Brexit spokesman Tom Brake told the Independent.
“It really is that crazy. Rather than £350m a week extra for the NHS as the Brexiteers promised, Brexit is making us poorer every day.”
The EMA, which employ 890 people at its London offices, stated that 667 of the staff did not want to leave the UK, the European Parliament's budget committee has been warned that this would be "devastating" to the agency's work.
The European Commission aims to assess each of the 19 bids by the end of September.
The Dutch government said last month it would finance a purpose-built €250m to €300m building for the EMA, which would then pay the market rate for the space.
Meanwhile eight EU countries are chasing the European Banking Authority when it moves out of London due to Brexit.
One of the more interesting bids, from the Czech Republic, has offered staff who work in the European Banking Authority free entry to 24 local museums for five years and unlimited access to Prague zoo.