Nieuwe EU-agentschappen verdeeld tussen Spanje, Finland, Italië en Zweden (en)

EUOBSERVER / BRUSSELS - EU leaders today agreed to the locations of new EU agencies, after much political wrangling.

After two years of debate Italy has beaten Finland in the competition to host the Food Safety Agency. Finland will instead get a new agency to evaluate chemicals.

EU leaders failed to reach agreement on agencies, due to opposition by Italy and France, at the Laeken summit two years ago.

Italy then rejected the list of locations proposed by the Belgian government because Parma was not going to get to host the European Food Authority.

The Italian Prime Minister believed that due to the well known Parma ham, his city should get the assignment.

The agency is now set to be based in Parma.

However, it was not just the Finns and Italians fighting their corner, Spain took advantage of its hard line position in talks on the constitution to wring concessions, saying that the Food Agency should go to it.

In the end, it was agreed that Spain will host a new fisheries centre.

Sweden, who aside from Finland was the only current EU member state not to have an agency, will get the European Centre for Disease Control.

The deal comes ahead of next May's enlargement which would have expanded the number of countries fighting for the agencies from 15 to 25.