A photo dated 31 July, 2017, showing the office complex under construction in Vallila, Helsinki, earmarked by Finland for housing the headquarters of the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
Helsinki did not make it past the first round of the competition to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
The European Council on Monday announced the agency, which with its staff of about 900 is one of the largest agencies of the EU, will be re-located from London to Amsterdam, the Netherlands, due to the United Kingdom’s looming withdrawal from the European Union.
A total of 19 member states had submitted a bid to host the EMA.
Pirkko Mattila (BR), the Minister of Social Affairs and Health, estimates that although the campaign to lure the agency to Finland proved unsuccessful, the application process allowed the country to reinforce its networks in the medicines sector in Europe.
Marja-Leena Rinkineva, the director of economic development at the City of Helsinki, similarly expressed her confidence that participation in the application process alone will help attract more foreign expertise and investment to Greater Helsinki.
The Ministry of Social Affairs and Health also reminded that the successful re-location of EMA from London to Amsterdam will be “of critical importance” for medicines safety in Europe.
The Finnish government did not launch its official campaign to lure the agency to Helsinki until July due to its inability to find a consensus on the re-location of the headquarters of the Finnish Medicines Agency (Fimea). The consensus was found after an almost ten-year political tussle in July, when the government decided to retain most of the agency’s operations in Turku and Helsinki.
Aleksi Teivainen – HT Photo: Vesa Moilanen – Lehtikuva Source: Uusi Suomi
