Close collaboration with new host country as of day one key for successful move

With less than two weeks to go before EU Member States select a new host city for the European Medicines Agency (EMA) on 20 November 2017, the Agency prepares itself to immediately start working with the new host country. As of that date, the Agency has less than 17 months to conclude its move and take up its operations in the new host city by end of March 2019.

Moving a large organisation such as EMA to a new location is a challenging undertaking under any circumstances. It is made even more complex by the ambitious timetable determined by the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) on 30 March 2019. Effective collaboration between EMA and the new host country on the basis of the commitments made in the offer to host EMA is essential for a successful move to a new location and EMA's business continuity. By establishing an adequate joint governance structure to steer and oversee this challenging project, EMA and the new host country will kick-start their collaboration.

Because of its important role to safeguard public and animal health in the EU, EMA is committed to giving stakeholders and the public full visibility of the relocation project and will make publicly available in early December a monitoring chart that tracks the progress.

The most pressing issue that needs the immediate attention of EMA and the host country is the Agency's new premises. Many administrative steps need to be taken before work on the new building can begin. For instance, EMA's building plans need to be approved by local authorities, EMA's Management Board and the EU budgetary authority. This process typically takes between six to eight months. Fit-out alone of a building that fulfils EMA's requirements is expected to take between 12 to 15 months. Due to the tight timetable, EMA, together with the European institutions and the new host country will need to explore workable solutions to speed up the approval processes and allow work to be carried out in parallel, rather than in sequence.

Other aspects of the move that will need to be addressed include: