ROME, Jan. 30 (Xinhua) -- Italy will appeal to the European Union (EU) for the bloc to reconsider its decision to move the European Medicines Authority (EMA) from London to Amsterdam, an Italian official said on Tuesday.
Italy submitted a bid for the city of Milan to become the new possible home for the EMA, but lost by a very small margin.
After concerns were expressed on Monday over the temporary space that would be offered to host the drug agency in Amsterdam, however, Milan mayor Giuseppe Sala announced Italy would try to push its candidacy again.
"I called Paolo Gentiloni (Italy's prime minister), and told him this is the right time to be aggressive, and try our best," Sala said in an interview on Italian radio station RTL 102.5.
"According to what I have been told, the government's appeal will be sent today (Tuesday)," the mayor added.
Sala acknowledged that "the chances for the decision to be reconsidered were not very strong," but said it was worth trying nonetheless.
Since 1995, the EMA has been in charge of evaluating and supervising the use of medicines on human and animals within the EU. As such, it plays a crucial role in the approval of new pharmaceutical products to be sold in the single market.
Due to Britain's decision to quit the EU, the agency must leave London for a new host city by March 2019.
Overall, 19 European cities submitted their candidacy to be the EMA's new headquarters, and EU affairs ministers gathered to make the choice in Brussels in November.
Milan and Amsterdam were the front-runners in the last round of voting, and the final decision -- taken by drawing lots -- rewarded the Netherlands' capital.
On Monday, however, it was revealed the new location would not be ready by March 2019, and the EMA would be offered an interim solution in the meantime.
Reacting to the news on Monday, EMA Executive Director Guido Rasi declared in a statement the selected temporary premises were not "an optimal solution," since they would offer the agency only half the space it had in London. Yet, they were "the best option under the current time restrictions."
"The physical relocation of EMA to a new host country is the single biggest challenge EMA has ever had to deal with since its establishment," Rasi also said.
