Because of Brexit, the European Medicines Agency (EMA) is moving its headquarters from London to Amsterdam. But trouble threatens at the new domicile: A gigantic erotic center is to be built in the business district. The EMA fears the worst for its staff and visitors and is calling for intervention at the highest level.
During the corona pandemic, the expertise of the EU medicines agency EMA was constantly in demand, but now a completely different problem is causing her headaches: a huge erotic center is to be built near her headquarters in Amsterdam. She was "extremely concerned" about the Amsterdam City Council's proposal, said the EU authority, which had moved from London to the Dutch metropolis in 2019 because of Brexit.
In its statement, EMA expressed fears that the new neighbor would bring "security problems and nuisance". This affects both the EMA employees and the delegations received by the authority, which often only leave the EMA headquarters late in the evening. "The relocation of the red light district is motivated by concerns about harassment, drug trafficking, drunkenness and disorderly conduct," EMA said. "Locating the adult center in close proximity to the EMA will likely have the same negative impact in the surrounding area."
Two of the three locations the Amsterdam City Council is considering for the huge brothel are near the EMA headquarters in a business district on the southern outskirts of Amsterdam. The EMA wants to defend itself and ask the EU Commission to address the matter at the "highest political and diplomatic level" in order to "ensure a safe working environment" for the EMA employees.
The authority, which has played a central role in the approval of corona vaccines in the EU, confidently referred to its importance. "The work of the EMA is crucial to protecting public health in the EU and this should not be jeopardized by staff and EU experts being afraid to come to the EMA building," the statement said. The EU authority criticized that they only found out about the city administration's plans from the local media. In her view, she should have been consulted in advance.
A spokesman for the city administration said that the EU authority was "at least half a kilometer" away from each of the three possible locations for the erotic center. The police also assume that customers would not be on the street like in the red light district. The erotic center will provide jobs for around 100 sex workers. Amsterdam City Council is working to end prostitution in the traditional red-light district of De Wallen, following numerous complaints from local residents.
