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The European Union (EU), on Tuesday, reveal that 23 cities across Europe have made bids to host two London-based EU agencies, which will be forced to leave the London after Brexit.
Nineteen cities have bid to host the European Medicines Agency (EMA), while eight expressed interest in the European Banking Authority (EBA), the European Council said in a statement.
"The two agencies will need to be relocated in the context of the UK's withdrawal from the EU. The future locations need to be decided by common agreement of the EU27 member states," the council statement said.
The post-Brexit 27 will decide on the final locations of the firms in November after the bids are assessed by the executive arm of the bloc.
"We will now proceed in assessing all offers in an objective manner," European Commission spokeswoman Mina Andreeva told reporters.
The deadline for applications was Monday at midnight.
The frontrunners are for the EMA are Amsterdam, Barcelona and Lille in France, with Athens, Bonn, Bratislava, Brussels, Bucharest, Copenhagen, Dublin, Helsinki, Milan, Porto, Sofia, Stockholm, Malta, Vienna, Warsaw and Zagreb also in contention.
Frankfurt, Germany is the frontrunner for the EBA, followed by Paris, Luxembourg and Prague, with Brussels, Dublin, Vienna and Warsaw trailing
The medicines agency employs 900 people and the banking agency 159.
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The winner will be selected using a complicated points system that officials have compared to the Eurovision song contest.
The European Commission will evaluate the bids in September, considering criteria such as accessibility for current employees, work opportunities for their spouses and schools for their children.
The Commission will also assess whether a country already hosts other EU agencies to omit monopoly.
A political discussion in October will precede the private vote in November.
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