REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the compliance of the European Banking Authority with the requirements regarding the location of its seat
Date: 2022-08-04
Institutions: Directorate-General for Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European Commission
Subjects: European Banking Authority, France, Ile-de-France, United Kingdom, operation of the Institutions, seat of institution, withdrawal from the EU

EN 

  EN 

   EUROPEAN COMMISSION  Brussels, 4.8.2022  COM(2022) 387 final  REPORT FROM THE COMMISSION TO THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL on the compliance of the European Banking Authority with the requirements regarding the location of its seat  
 
 
1. 

INTRODUCTION 

In  the  context  of  the  United  Kingdom’s  withdrawal  from  the  Union,  the  other  27 
Member States, at the margins of the General Affairs Council on 20 November 2017, 
selected Paris, France, as the new seat of the European Banking Authority (EBA)1.  

The  location  of  the  EBA’s  seat  is  laid  down  in  Article  7  of  the  EBA  founding 
Regulation2 (“the EBA Regulation”), which therefore had to be amended3 to move the 
seat  from  London  to  Paris.  In  addition  to  changing  the  location  of  the  seat,  the 
amendment to the EBA Regulation introduced certain new requirements regarding the 
location of the seat, as well as an obligation for the Commission to publish a report by 
30  March  2019  and  every  12  months  thereafter  on  EBA’s  compliance  with  these 
requirements. 

According to Art. 7 of the EBA Regulation: “The location of the seat of the Authority 
shall not affect the Authority’s execution of its tasks and powers, the organisation of 
its governance structure, the operation of its main organisation, or the main financing 
of its activities, while allowing, where applicable, for the sharing with Union agencies 
of  administrative  support  services  and  facility  management  services  which  are  not 
related to the core activities of the Authority”.  

EBA has provided the necessary input to fulfill these reporting requirements. The first 
three reports were published in 20194, 20205 and 20216. This is the fourth report under 
this reporting obligation.  

2. 

EBA  HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT 

A  Headquarters  Agreement  (hereinafter  “HQA”)  with  the  French  Government  was 
signed  in  Paris  on  6  March  2019.  In  accordance  with  Article  25  of  the  HQA,  EBA 
completed  the  internal  procedures  for  its  entry  into  force  on  4  March  2019,  and  it 
confirmed  their  completion  to  the  French  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  in  June  2021. 
EBA is awaiting confirmation of completion of the procedures required by French law 
for  the  HQA  to  enter  into  effect:  the  Assemblée  nationale  adopted  the  HQA  on  17 
February 2022 and awaits approval in the Sénat followed by publication in the Offical 
Journal.    

In  addition  to  reflecting  the  requirements  of  Protocol  No  7  on  the  privileges  and 
immunities of the European Union7, the HQA entitles EBA staff members to a special 
residence permit FI (Fonctionnaire International), attesting their status as international 

General Affairs Council (Art. 50), 20 November 2017:  

1  
https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/press/press-releases/2017/11/20/european-banking-authority-to-
be-relocated-to-city-country/  
2  
Regulation  (EU)  No  1093/2010  of  the  European  Parliament  and  of  the  Council  of  24 
November 2010 establishing a European Supervisory Authority (European Banking Authority) (OJ L 
331, 15.12.2010, p. 12). 
3  
Regulation (EU) 2018/1717 of the  European Parliament and of the  Council of 14 November 
2018,  amending  Regulation  (EU)  No  1093/2010  as  regards  the  location  of  the  seat  of  the  European 
Banking Authority (OJ L291, 16.11.2018, p. 1). 
4  
5  
6  
7  

COM(2019) 451 final. 
COM(2020) 317 final. 
COM(2021) 771 final 
OJ C202, 7.6.2016, p. 266-272 

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civil servants in France (applicable also to family members). EBA has been engaging 
with the Protocol Office of the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs and Customs 
to  ensure  a  smooth  process  in  relation  to  the  arrival  of  staff  and  their  families  in 
France,  the  provision  of  special  residence  permits,  and  the  application  of  tax 
privileges  to  EBA.  As  of  April  2022,  223  staff  and  family  members  have  received 
special residence permits, one additional application is being processed and 24 special 
residence permits have been returned due to end of employment.  

Article 9 of the HQA exempts EBA from  VAT incurred on official expenses where 
the invoice amount net of VAT is greater than EUR 150. In practice, EBA is paying 
the  VAT  on  French  purchases,  and  on  purchases  where  the  “VAT  Mini  One  Stop 
Shop” scheme8 applies, and is reclaiming this VAT from the French government. As 
of April 2022, EBA has claimed reimbursement of EUR 2,522,883 all of which has 
been received. 

In  accordance  with  Article  19  of  the  HQA,  the  French  Government  opened  the 
European School of Paris-La Défense in Courbevoie in September 2019. The school 
offers a comprehensive curriculum from kindergarten to the European Baccalaureate 
to the children of the staff of EU bodies established in the Paris Region, as well as for 
pupils  with  an  international  background.  The  Board  of  Governors  of  the  European 
Schools  has  unanimously  granted  accreditation  for  all  school  years.  This  provides 
access to the European Baccalaureate; first Baccalaureate graduation is taking place in 
June 2022. The English  language section comprises the entire cycle from nursery to 
the  last  year  of  secondary  education.  The  French  language  section  provides  a 
complete  nursery  and  primary  cycle,  and  first  year  of  secondary  cycle  will  open  in 
September 2022. For the 2021-2022 school year, 25 children of EBA staff members 
were enrolled at the school. 

3. 

EBA GOVERNANCE, OPERATIONS AND EXECUTION OF TASKS 

EBA’s tasks and powers, the organisation of its governance structure, the operation of 
its main organisation, and its main financing were not affected by the relocation of its 
seat. EBA has been fully operational in its new offices in Paris from the beginning of 
June 2019. 

The relocation of the EBA’s seat to Paris has had no impact on the main financing of 
its  activities  by  the  EU  and  the  national  competent  authorities.  Separate  from  this 
financing, the French government is providing 8.5 million euros to cover costs of the 
Paris offices. This funding is divided between EUR 1.5 million for set-up costs, which 
has  already  been  received  and  spent,  and  EUR  7.0  million  for  ongoing  lease  costs, 
which  is  to  be  received  over  the  course  of  the  nine  years  of  the  lease  so  as  to 
smoothen  out  the  budgetary  impact.  To  date,  EBA  has  invoiced  and  received  EUR 
5,650,000 under this agreement. 

Sharing of administrative support services with other Union agencies 

EBA  cooperates  actively  with  ESMA  on  administrative  matters,  with  regular 
meetings being held between the equivalent administrative units of the two agencies.  

8 

VAT on digital services/MOSS: What services are covered? - Your Europe (europa.eu) 

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EBA  has  signed  a  Service  Level  Agreement  with  ESMA  for  the  provision  of 
accounting services and since July 2021, EBA is providing these services to ESMA. 
EBA’s  Accounting  Officer  and  Accounting  Assistant  are  shared  between  the  two 
agencies,  which  allows  for  a  more  efficient  use  of  resources.  ESMA’s  Management 
Board  appointed  EBA’s  Accounting  Officer  as  ESMA’s  Accounting  Officer  with 
effect from 1 July 2021. 

EBA  works  closely  with  other  EU  agencies  based  in  France  with  regard  to  their 
procurement  procedures,  especially  with  ESMA.  The  table  below  summarises  the 
activity in this area. 

Lead agency  

Participating 
agencies  

Procedure  

Status 

ESMA plus 9 
other agencies  

Data protection 
consultancy  

ESMA, EUISS9 
EUSPA10  

Medical services  

Framework 
contract signed in 
2021 
Framework 
contract signed in 
2021 

ESMA, EIOPA 

Managed network services   Signature planned 

ESMA  

ESMA  

ESMA  

ESMA  

ESMA  

EBA, EIOPA  

ESMA  

EBA, EIOPA  

ESMA  

EBA, EIOPA  

Facilities management 
consultancy and reception 
services 
Cleaning services 

Catering services 

External audit of annual 
accounts 
Application development, 
maintenance, and support 
ICT Consultancy 

for June 2022 
Signature planned 
for 2023  

Signature planned 
for 2023  
Signature planned 
for 2023  
Signature planed 
for September 2022  
Signature planned 
in Q4 2022  
Signed April 2022  

Professional skills 
development training 

Signature planed in 
Q3 2022  

EBA  

EBA  

EBA  

EBA  

EBA  

EBA  

EBA  

EBA and ESMA also participate in a network of procurement officers of international 
organisations based in Paris. 

Cooperation on joint ESAs projects 

EBA, ESMA and EIOPA work on a joint project (led by EIOPA) with the objective to 
establish a system for the exchange of information relevant to the assessment of the 
fitness  and  propriety  of  holders  of  qualifying  holdings,  directors,  and  key  function 
holders of financial market participants by competent authorities. 

9 European Union Institute for Securities Studies 
10 The European Union Agency for the Space Programme. 

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Coordination on COVID-19 

Since the outbreak of the pandemic, EBA has maintained its operations, carrying out 
its  full  range  of  tasks.  EBA  has  been  in  regular  and  close  contact  with  ESMA  and 
international  organisations  based  in  France  (OECD  and  Interpol)  to  share  good 
practices  regarding  measures  during  the  lockdown  as  well  as  plans  related  to  the 
return-to-office. 

EBA led the initiative for the home-office contribution to its staff and coordinated the 
development  of  guidelines  with  EIOPA  and  ESMA  to  ensure  as  much  alignment  as 
possible across the ESAs.  

EBA  and  ESMA  have  also  closely  coordinated  their  gradual  return-to-office 
approaches with a view to ensuring as much alignment as possible.  

4. 

CONCLUSIONS 

Based on the available information, the EBA’s execution of its tasks and powers, its 
governance structure, its main organisation, and the financing of its activities have not 
been  affected  by  the  relocation  of  its  seat  to  Paris,  nor  by  the  administrative 
cooperation  arrangements  with  ESMA  and  EIOPA  described  above,  which  are  not 
related to the core activities of EBA. 

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