The EC has today announced that the following cities have proposed to host the EBA:
- Brussels (Belgium)
- Dublin (Ireland)
- Frankfurt (Germany)
- Paris (France)
- Prague (Czech Republic)
- Luxembourg-City (Luxembourg)
- Vienna (Austria)
- Warsaw (Poland)
The applications will be assessed on the basis of six criteria agreed by the 27 member states:
- guarantees that the agency will be operational when the UK leaves the EU
- accessibility of the location
- schools for the children of the staff
- access to the labour market and health care for the employees’ families
- business continuity
- geographical spread
The Commission will publish an assessment of the offers based on the agreed criteria by 30 September 2017. Ministers will have a political discussion based on the Commission’s assessment in October 2017 in the margins of the General Affairs Council (Art. 50).
The decision will be taken in the margins of the General Affairs Council (Art.50) in November 2017 by a vote of the 27 ministers. All offers will be submitted to the vote unless they are withdrawn by the countries concerned. The vote will consist of successive voting rounds as needed, with the votes cast by secret ballot and each of the 27 member states having the same number of votes.