Ireland came close to pulling off a remarkable diplomatic coup when Dublin gave both Paris and Frankfurt a close run for their money in voting for the relocation of the European Banking Agency.
The prize, however, went to Paris after a final round tie with Dublin was decided by lot.
It was the second tie and lot of the night with Amsterdam earlier snatching the European Medicines Agency (EMA) from Milan.
There is little doubt that the close result was in part a tribute to a remarkable campaign by Irish diplomats and officials, and in no small measure, many were saying, an act of Brexit solidarity from fellow member states.
Dublin, with 28 votes after the first round of voting, had joined Paris and Frankfurt in the second round of balloting by Ministers for the post-Brexit relocation of the EU’s two London-based agencies the EBA and the European Medicines Agency (EMA).
In the second round Frankfurt went out, leaving Dublin (13) vying with Paris (10) for the prize.
The EBA, with a staff of 167, is the umbrella regulator for the EU’s banking system, founded in 2011 as a beefed-up form of an earlier committee of European domestic financial supervisors. Its purpose is to attempt to enforce a “single rulebook” approach to overseeing banks across the EU.
To sweeten the bid, Ireland was offering some €13.5 million in rental support to the agency and some €1 million to help staff relocate.
