Lombardy Governor Roberto
Maroni said Tuesday that Premier Paolo Gentiloni was "very
angry" with Spain after Amsterdam was awarded the European
Medicines Agency (EMA) instead of Milan.
The Dutch capital got the agency, which is leaving London due
to Brexit, after lots were drawn, as the final vote ended in a
13-13 tie.
"He said Spain voted for Amsterdam as rivalry, spite
prevailed over strategy," Maroni said, stressing that he had
spoken to Gentiloni on the telephone.
"It'll mean that we will support Catalonia more strongly in
its request for autonomy and independence".
Maroni went on to say that the presence of Gentiloni or
Foreign Minister Angelino Alfano in Brussels might have made the
difference before the vote came down to a tie-break.
"Between the second and third vote, when someone needed to be
there and we just needed two (more) votes, if the premier or the
foreign minister had been there it might have gone differently,"
he said.
"Perhaps a more authoritative presence would have made the
difference".
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