Announcing the initiation of ‘phase 4’ of its business continuity plan, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) provided more details on its relocation from London to Amsterdam.
Officially, the physical relocation will occur on the week of beginning 4 March, when the agency will “operate on the basis of extended teleworking” and a limited number of staff ready to perform ‘emergency’ activities in the Spark building in Amsterdam.
The following week (March 11-15) will see the rest of the EMA staff move into the building.
The agency had previously announced that staff numbers would be reduced during this fourth phase of operations, concluding that 25% of its workforce will not make the move to Amsterdam.
This reduction in workforce will mean that operations at the agency will be reduced, with ‘category 1’ activities (core scientific activities, corporate activities and legal obligations) prioritised. The number of staff choosing not to move with the agency is fewer than had been initially expected.
Once the move is completed, projected to happen on April 1, 2019, the EMA will review which activities it is able to resume in the second half of the year.
