The Diplomat
The mayor of Madrid, José Luis Martínez-Almeida, yesterday accused Pedro Sánchez of not lifting a single finger to support the candidacy of the capital of Spain for the headquarters of the new EU agency against money laundering and terrorist financing (AMLA).
During a breakfast at the New Economy Forum, Martínez-Almeida reiterated the criticism expressed days ago against the Government, after it voted in favor of Frankfurt’s candidacy, despite the fact that the European Parliament, by a large majority, had given its approval. support for Madrid’s candidacy.
The mayor indicated that he had no reproaches to make to the Minister of Economy, Carlos Body, because, in his opinion, the decision was taken by the head of the Executive, “because – he said – he preferred to save the job of former vice president Nadia Calviño at the head of the European Investment Bank (EIB), than the 400 who would have arrived in Madrid, if it had been chosen as the headquarters of the new agency.
Last Tuesday, Martínez-Almeida presented an emergency motion from the PP to disapprove of Pedro Sánchez, whom he accused of having given instructions so that, at the European Council on February 22, the Spanish delegation would support the German city in exchange of the election of former vice president and former minister Nadia Calviño as president of the European Investment Bank (EIB).
The President of the Government, Almeida assured before the plenary session of the City Council, “gave the order not to vote for Madrid’s candidacy” and to support Frankfurt’s to satisfy France and Germany, two countries that voted in favor of Calviño. “Not a miserable letter, not a miserable call. “Sánchez did not pick up the phone to call any Member State to try to have Madrid chosen as the headquarters of the AMLA,” he added. The motion was approved with the votes of the PP and Vox and the rejection of the PSOE and Más Madrid.
In her response, Enma López, PSOE spokesperson, assured that Almeida’s accusation is a “hoax” and that the mayor has demonstrated her “institutional disloyalty” with it. Likewise, she showed a letter sent in January by Sánchez to the president of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, in which she stated that Madrid “the ideal place for the AMLA headquarters.”
The PP assures that, during the joint vote of the Council and the European Parliament, held on February 22, the Chief Executive supported Frankfurt to the detriment of the “interests of the city of Madrid.” The German city obtained 28 of the 54 votes cast. Madrid came in second position with 16 votes. The votes that took place in Brussels are secret and have not been made public.
Last Friday, the mayor assured that Madrid was “the best candidacy, a candidacy worked on with all of civil society and all administrations,” and “it had the support of the European Parliament and its majority group, the Popular Party.” European”. “If Madrid has not won, it has been because the Government of Spain has not done its homework,” added the mayor, who thanked the Minister of Economy, Carlos Body, for his work, who “was with this candidacy” from the first moment and the defended in the European Parliament.
In fact, according to Almeida, Madrid was the candidate with the most votes in the European Parliament, but “in the European Council, where Spain has a seat, all the votes went to Frankfurt and someone has to explain that to us Madrid residents.” “If the Government of Spain, only the vote of the government of Spain, had not been for Frankfurt but for Madrid, a situation would have arisen in which we would have gone to a second round” with Madrid and Frankfurt and, in that second round, there could be having dragged votes that went to Rome or Paris. “I’m sure we would have made it,” he added.
