Teaching Comparative Government and Politics

Monday, November 27, 2017

Among the costs of Brexit

As Brexit approaches, the costs of the UK's withdrawal appear.

Key European Agencies Move to Continent, Signs of Brexit’s Toll

Critical agencies that oversee Europe’s banks and pharmaceutical sector will move from London to cities on the Continent, political leaders in Brussels decided Monday, potentially ominous harbingers of how Britain’s impending exit from the European Union could diminish the country’s economic clout.

The European Medicines Agency will move to Amsterdam, while the European Banking Authority is set to relocate to Paris…

The departure of the European Medicines Agency, Europe’s equivalent of the Food and Drug Administration in the United States, is a blow to the prestige of Britain’s pharmaceutical industry, an important pillar of the economy and an example of the country’s bona fides in scientific research and development.

The European Banking Authority has strong symbolic value among cities jostling to become Continental Europe’s financial capital. Its departure serves as a warning of the consequences of Brexit for London, currently the banking capital of Europe…

From Britain’s point of view, the European Medicines Agency is the larger of the two losses in tangible terms, as it has around 890 staff members. It oversees the approval of drugs for use across Europe, has an annual budget of more than $300 million and generates significant additional revenue for London. For example, on most weekdays its visiting experts fill 350 hotel rooms in the city…

The decision to move the European Banking Authority… underlines the risks facing London’s lucrative financial industry from Brexit. The European Central Bank has suggested it might impose extra regulations on eurozone banks operating in London, in effect pressuring them to move to the Continent…

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