European Medicines Agency
The European Medicines Agency (EMA) will lose fewer staff than feared when it moves from its London headquarters to a new home in Amsterdam after Brexit.
Europe’s drugs safety watchdog anticipated in summer 2018 that around 30% of its existing 900-strong workforce would not make the move to the Netherlands, but that figure has now been revised down to 24%.
The lower number is attributed to support on offer to those employees who want to move and “positive feedback” from those who have already set up home in Amsterdam, the EMA told The Pharmaceutical Journal.
“The numbers change on a daily basis though, as more staff make decisions as the date for relocation approaches. We are monitoring the situation closely,” a spokesperson said.
Some 60 staff have already left London in advance of moving to new temporary headquarters in Amsterdam. Others are expected to move in early 2019, ahead of the 29 March 2019 Brexit deadline; some employees have postponed their move to coincide with the new academic year starting in September 2019.
The EMA confirmed that redundancy is not being offered to staff who decide against going to Amsterdam as, under European Union (EU) staff regulations, it is not an option for employees who are requested to move to new premises.
“This principle is fundamental to the functioning of the administration of all EU bodies,” the EMA said.
