EU foreign ministers picked Amsterdam as the new home of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) at a meeting in Brussels on Monday, with Milan the closest runner-up.
The decision was made by drawing lots, reports said, after the two finalists ended up tied with the same number of votes.
This is how the EU finally decided on where to house the European Medicines Agency. Picking a name out of a bowl pic.twitter.com/oFdgNdERwl
— Mehreen (@MehreenKhn) November 20, 2017
Italy's northern fashion capital beat a dozen other European cities to the final, winning the most votes in the first and second rounds.
A total of 19 countries bid to host the EMA, which is currently headquartered in London's Canary Wharf with a staff of around 900 people.
The agency, which monitors and approves drugs for use across EU member states, will need a new base after the United Kingdom leaves the EU in 2019.
According to a staff survey in September, Amsterdam was the most popular choice among the EMA's employees, while Milan ranked fourth.
I still think Milan has become one of the most exciting cities in Europe. Hosting #EMA would have been the coronation of a remarkable decade. pic.twitter.com/gs9mu9yZjV
— Ferdinando Giugliano (@FerdiGiugliano) November 20, 2017
Competition was fierce, with the new EMA headquarters likely to attract medical and pharmaceutical companies from across the globe in their wake.
Italy has already won one Brexit trophy, albeit a less lucrative one: in October, the European Union Youth Orchestra announced that it would move its headquarters from London to Rome following the British vote.
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