Commission scrutinises Luxembourg's bid to host EBA

The European Commission has made an initial assessment of Luxembourg's bid to host the European Banking Authority (EBA), as it vies with seven other cities to become the new seat of the agency.

Luxembourg is competing against Vienna, Brussels, Prague, Paris, Frankfurt, Dublin and Warsaw to become the home of the European banking regulator, which must move from London as a result of Britain's vote to leave the European Union.

The Commission published its initial assessment of the bids for all seven cities ahead of a European council meeting in October, followed by a final decision by all 27 member states via a secret ballot on 20 November.

The EBA, which employs around 200 people, would be housed rent-free in a 4,200 square metre building on the Route d'Arlon in Luxembourg city.

There would be office space in the building for up to 244 employees and it would be ready for use as of late 2018. Luxembourg would also provide provisional offices at no cost to EBA staff coordinating the move to the new building.

The offer included two possible relocation plans, one for a "light" move of office belongings and agency archives, or a "complete" move including furniture and existing IT equipment.

However, the Commission said Luxembourg's offer lacked any information on the physical or IT security at the location and did not provide specific information about public transport connections between the proposed EBA office and the airport.

The Commission said Luxembourg's bid did not include the number of available places at a nursery level or at private and state schools, but indicated  there would be guaranteed access for the children of EBA staff to the two European schools in the city.

It said the offer did not provide information on access for children and spouses of EBA staff to social security, but provided general information on the healthcare system and the availability of jobs for expats in Luxembourg.

Luxembourg argued that the proximity to the European Investment Bank and the European Stability Mechanism, already located in the city, would be of “substantial advantage”, as well as being within two hours travel of the European Central Bank and bodies in the financial sector in Frankfurt, Paris, and Brussels.

The bids are being evaluated on six criteria: the ability for the agency to be operational when the UK leaves the EU, the accessibility of the location, schools for the children of agency staff, access to the labour market and healthcare for spouses and children, business continuity and the geographical spread of existing EU agencies.  

Luxembourg's chances of hosting the EBA improved in September when the Commission ruled out the possibility of merging the EBA with other supervisory authorities, which had been used as an argument in France and Germany to increase their chances of hosting the agency.

The European Medicines Agency is also relocating from London and a further 19 European cities are competing to become its new seat and home to its 900 staff.

(By Hannah Brenton, hannah,brenton@wort.lu, +352 4993 728)