Infographic - How the seat of the European Labour Authority will be selected See full infographic

Bratislava has been selected as the seat of the future European Labour Authority (ELA). The capital of Slovakia received 15 votes out of 28.

Four EU countries offered to host the seat of the ELA in the following cities:

Sofia (Bulgaria)

Nicosia (Cyprus)

Riga (Latvia)

Bratislava (Slovakia)

The vote took place in the margins of the EPSCO Council meeting in Luxembourg in accordance with the selection procedure agreed by the representatives of member states on 14 March 2019. The final decision on the ELA's seat was taken by common agreement of the representatives of member states and reflected the outcome of the vote.

Background

The offers to host the seat of ELA were received by the deadline of 6 May and published on the Council website on 13 May. On 29 May the Council also published the European Commission's assessments of the offers based on the following criteria:

geographical balance

the date on which the ELA can be set up after the entry into force of the founding regulation

accessibility of the location

existence of adequate education facilities for the children of staff

appropriate access to the labour market, social security and medical care for both children and spouses

The ELA will support member states in the enforcement of EU legal acts in the areas of labour mobility and social security coordination and provide information to individuals and employers in cross-border labour mobility situations.