What is Amsterdam’s plan for an ‘erotic centre’? Why has it upset the European drug regulator?

Amsterdam’s mayor Femke Halsema plans to replace the city's red-light district with a multi-storey “erotic centre."However, there is a major hurdle – nobody wants it in their area.The city plans to close almost half the red-light district’s brothel windows and move their tenants to a new location.Mayor Halsema announced three potential locations last month, two of which are within a 10-minute walk of the EMA building in Amsterdam's southern business district.She faces fierce opposition from the European drug authority as well as the residents of the other possible locations.Let’s take a closer look at the proposed “erotic centre” and the reasons the residents and the drug agency have opposed the plan.What is Amsterdam’s erotic centre?In 2021, Amsterdam officials agreed on plans to move the city’s infamous red-light district amid increasing violence and crowding in the area's congested small streets and canalside pathways.They commissioned architects to design a building containing 100 rooms for sex services, as well as bars, restaurants, entertainment centres and a health centre, reported BBC.[caption id="attachment_12264432" align="alignnone" width="640"]

The EMA says that it fears “nuisance, drug dealing, drunkenness and disorderly behaviour.” AFP[/caption]According to The Guardian, Femke Halsema has previously said she wants it to be a venue “that has some class and distinction."Last month, the mayor said in a statement, “Sex work belongs to Amsterdam and will never go away. But the situation in the inner city is unsustainable… due to the stream of tourists who regularly misbehave and cause nuisance,” according to Dutch News.According to her, the new centre will ease pressure on the old red-light district and create "an extraordinary place where sex workers can work safely, legally, and undisturbed, and visitors can expect a wide offering of erotica, culture, and entertainment.”Amsterdam last month also announced plans to close pubs and restaurants early and forbid smoking marijuana on the street in the red-light district as an effort to reduce what it calls "nuisance tourism" in the 17th-century centre that has made life difficult for locals.Also read: Sex and the Summit: How prostitution blooms during World Economic Forum in DavosWhy is EMA concerned?EMA, which relocated from London to Amsterdam in 2019 after the United Kingdom chose to exit the EU, said it was “very concerned” about the project. It fears “nuisance, drug dealing, drunkenness and disorderly behaviour.”An EMA spokesperson told the ANP news agency, “The agency is taking action at the highest appropriate political and diplomatic level, in full coordination with the European Commission, to ensure a safe working environment for staff and experts.”According to The Guardian, it added that it was hard to see how relocating the red-light district would not also relocate the problems associated with it.The agency stated that it had heard about the plans through the media and had not so far been consulted by city hall. It added that the agreement signed with the Dutch government guaranteed the “security and tranquillity” of EMA premises.It said, “The EMA’s work is essential for the protection of public health in the European Union,” further adding that it employed more than 900 staff and welcomed large numbers of international visitors, often late in the evening.The work “should not be jeopardised because staff and experts fear visiting the agency’s office. The EMA is very concerned that the proposed centre will create safety, security and nuisance issues.”Also read: Why Netherlands’ formal apology for slavery fell flatWhat is the mayor saying?Earlier, while speaking to Observer, Mayor Femke Halsema admitted that she was aware many residents would not want it located near them.However, she is determined to improve the quality of inner-city life, the rights of sex workers, and reduce the number of organised crimes in sex work.She told the outlet, “I hope it’s possible to create an erotic centre that has some class and distinction and isn’t a place where only petty criminals and the most vulnerable women gather.”“But I also realise there is a long road ahead of us because most people associate sex work with crime and with the vulnerability of women, with human rights being violated. So in most neighbourhoods, most people are not very enthusiastic about the erotic centre,” she added.According to The Guardian, city councillors also asserted that the sex trade needs to evolve in order to fight the pervasive problem of human trafficking.Ilana Rooderkerk, head of the local D66 party, was quoted by The Guardian as saying that the city wants the men and women working as sex workers to be able to do their work safely, but they also want the “monkey watching” to be a thing of the past.“The erotic centre needs to put an end to nuisance in the red-light district… without causing nuisance somewhere else.”With inputs from agenciesRead all the Latest News, Trending News, Cricket News, Bollywood News,India News and Entertainment News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.