It is not long now until the EMA announces its new host city, with applications from Amsterdam to Zagreb.
See our note EMA: Preparing for Brexit for the full list of cities and the selection criteria.
After the announcement on 20 November 2017, the EMA will have less than 17 months to take up operations in the new host city by the end of March 2019. It is vitally important that there is close collaboration with the new host city as of day one.
Many administrative steps have to be taken such as having the building plans approved by local authorities and allowing enough time for the fit-out of the building (which is currently anticipated to take 12 - 15 months). Other aspects that require attention include finding:
- schools for around 600 children, taking into account linguistic needs
- housing for up to 900 new households bearing in mind affordability and also the transport links to the new Agency building.
The EMA have indicated they will give stakeholders and the public full visibility of the relocation project, including by making a monitoring chart available to track progress, so we look forward to following this through.
Catherine Penny