Gentiloni 'furious with Spain over EMA' (3)

(ANSA) - Milan, November 21 - 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".