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Regions & Cities: The EU Agencies Race

EUobserver's 2017 Regions & Cities magazine takes a closer look at EU agencies and the benefits for cities and regions to host them. The UK leaving the EU has prompted a scramble for the European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority among most of the remaining member states. But what makes a city competitive? Which cities stand a good chance to become the new hosts? And what do EU agencies bring to the local economy?

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eu EDITORIAL ADDRESS EUobserver Magazine Rue Montoyer 18B 1000 Brussels Belgium contact@euobserver.com Editor ARTICLE LAYOUT The EU Agencies Race When the EU Agencies Network presented the work of its members at the end of 2016, its chairman at the time, Antonio Campinos, of the European Union Intellectual Property Office, admitted that some agencies are "largely unknown even at EU institutional level". But two of the 45 bodies that are members of the network have inevitably seen rising fame in recent months: the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the European Banking Authority (EBA). Art director: Tobias Andreasen ADVERTISING EUobserver Magazine Rue Montoyer 18B 1000 Brussels Belgium advertising@euobserver.com DISTRIBUTION EUobserver Magazine Rue Montoyer 18B 1000 Brussels Belgium Meg Chang mc@euobserver.com PUBLISHER EUobserver.com ASBL www.euobserver.com information they need to hold the EU establishment to account. HIGH QUALITY JOURNALISM Cover illustration Tobias Andreasen With the UK exiting the EU, these two London-based agencies need a new home. Many EU member states have raised their hands and expressed interest. This has resulted in a beauty pageant, where 23 cities compete to host one, or even both agencies. The process provides an interesting occasion for cities to highlight the qualities they think will convince people of moving there - even though the final decision for the future home of the EMA and EBA, expected to be taken in November, is ultimately one of political haggling. In this edition of EUobserver's Regions & Cities magazine, we take a closer look at some of the EU agencies, exploring how their location matters and the benefits for cities and regions to host them. How will London fare without the EMA and EBA? What was the socio-economic impact of the EUIPO in the region of Valencia? What compromises did Poland make to become the host of the rapidly growing migration agency Frontex? How did cities and regions position themselves in their bid for two of the most high-profile agencies? Read on to find out! Peter Teffer 02 — REGIONS & CITIES OCTOBER 2017

London prepares to say goodbye to EU agencies Photo: Davide D'Amico The relocation of the EMA and the EBA after Brexit will leave a hole that will need to be filled, but opinion is divided among local business people as to whether the agencies will be missed. By Sebastien Ash The European Medicines Agency (EMA) has a nondescript presence on Canary Wharf, hub. The mid-size tower it shares sits at one extreme of the cluster in the Docklands east of the city centre. The logo near the top of the building, a sort of sphere within a bowl, can be spotted from a distance, but at street-level only it out. The other London-based EU agency, the European knowing where to look. The authority's 150 or so at One Canada Square, Canary Wharf's most recognisable structure with a silver obelisk at the very centre. A former chair of the EU Agencies Network and Antonio Campinos, has called the EU agencies "the familiar face of the EU for many Europeans", REGIONS & CITIES OCTOBER 2017— 03

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