the European Medicines Agency says it is “concerned” by the installation of a brothel near its headquarters in Amsterdam

A decision that is not unanimous. The European Medicines Agency (EMA) said “extremely concerned”Thursday, December 21, by the choice of the city of Amsterdam to install a large brothel near its headquarters in the Dutch capital. “The proposed location for the erotic center is in the immediate vicinity of the premises”reacted the European regulator, whose headquarters is located 800 m from the chosen site.

The municipality wants to move part of the legal prostitution out of the Red Light District and has chosen Europaboulevard, in the south of the Dutch capital, to install a new “erotic center”. The decision must be submitted to the municipal council in early 2024. But the project has provoked an outcry from sex workers, who want to stay behind their scarlet neon windows near the canals of the historic center.

Residents of the neighborhood are also up in arms against the prospect of seeing a “huge mess” to be built a stone’s throw from their homes. Even if the project is approved by the Amsterdam city council, the municipality plans a period of seven years for the brothel to open its doors.