Finland vies for EMA HQ in Helsinki

The Ministerial Committee on European Union Affairs on Thursday decided to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in Helsinki, said a government press release.

The committee observed that the relocation of the agency from London to Helsinki is logical due to easy flight connections from the capitals of all EU Member States, intercontinental flight connections, and sufficient hotel capacity for people attending meetings.

The criteria also include international and multilingual schools for the children of EMA staff.

These are among the reasons why Helsinki was chosen as the Finnish candidate for the new seat of EMA.

The relocation application will be prepared in close cooperation with the City of Helsinki.

The decision on the relocation will be made by vote during the EU General Affairs Council in November 2017.

Earlier, in mid April, Finland announced to submit an application to the European Union for relocation of the headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from London to Helsinki when the United Kingdom leaves the EU.

Social Affairs and Health Minister Pirkko Mattila said that time the application process was a opportunity to make Finnish expertise visible and to attract health-sector investments to Finland.

The Finnish pharmaceutical service is functioning well and medicine safety is on a top level in Finland. The Finnish Medicines Agency (FIMEA) is a highly respected authority in Europe and plays a significant role in EMA’s operation.

Relocating EMA to Finland would also give synergy benefits with the European Chemicals Agency. When both EU agencies would be located in Finland, their cooperation could be further intensified.

The European Medicines Agency is the third biggest EU agency.