At its June 2017 meeting, the management board of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) received an update on preparations for withdrawal of the U.K. form the European Union (EU) based on the U.K.'s invocation of Article 50 in March.
EMA said it needs to prepare based on the assumption that the U.K. will become a third country on 30 March 2019, without prejudice to any outcome of the withdrawal negotiations. The U.K. continues to participate in the activities of the EMA.
Projects related to the U.K.'s withdrawal include the following:
- Physical relocation of the agency from London to one of the remaining 27 member states, after the European Council decides on a new location in October.
- Redistribution of the workload to the remaining member states. Groups focusing on human and veterinary medicine will explore options for reallocation of the workload.
- Provision of guidance and information to pharmaceutical companies.
At the June meeting, the board endorsed the principles and the methodology that will help EMA prioritize its activities to make the necessary resources available for the transition in consideration of potentially significant staff losses, EMA said.
