The capital of Slovakia will be home to the new European Labour Authority (ELA).

Bratislava has won out against three other competitors as the new seat of the ELA. Four cities, Sofia (Bulgaria), Nicosia (Cyprus), Riga (Latvia) and the winner Bratislava, offered to host the new European institution. In an elaborate application process, the four candidates created their own homepages and videos.

Bratislava was the clear favourite with 15 votes out of 28 at the Employment, Social Policy, Health and Consumer Affairs Council (EPSCO) meeting on 13 June in Luxembourg.

Member States had already agreed in March that the following criteria were crucial for the vote: geographical balance, fast availability of office space, accessibility of the location, educational facilities for staff members’ children, and access to the labour market, social security and medical care for spouses and children.

ELA to be up and running by the end of 2019

As we already reported, the aim of the ELA is to improve cross-border cooperation, contribute to fair mobility throughout the EU and support the coordination of social security systems. The European Parliament voted in favour of the ELA on 16 April 2019. On 13 June 2019, the Council adopted the founding regulation, which will enter into force 20 days after its publication in the EU Official Journal.

The EU Commission expects the ELA to start operations at the end of 2019, albeit initially in Brussels for a transitional period. It is expected that the ELA will move to Bratislava in 2021.