British Prime Minister Theresa May arrives to attend a two-day EU Summit in Brussels, Belgium, June 22, 2017. (Xinhua/Ye Pingfan)
BRUSSELS, June 22 (Xinhua) -- The European Union (EU) leaders on Thursday adopted a four-step procedure on relocation of EU agencies currently in Britain, European Council President Donald Tusk said Thursday.
"Agreed. EU27 will decide by vote in November on relocation of EU agencies currently in UK. Confirms EU27 unity. Reduces Brexit uncertainty," Tusk said on Twitter.
Relocation of European Medicines Agency and the European Banking Authority will be divided into four steps. Firstly, the interested EU27 member states should summit their offers by July 31. Secondly, the European Commission assessed the offers based on agreed criteria by Sept. 30. Thirdly, there will be political discussion based on the Commission's assessment in October. And lastly, the 27 EU ministers will vote and decide on relocation in November.
It was reported that German financial hub of Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Paris and Prague are among the leading candidates to host the two EU agencies.