This Thursday, the European Union chose the German city of Frankfurt as the headquarters of the European agency against money laundering and the financing of terrorism (AMLA).. The candidacy has clearly prevailed over Madrid and the other seven candidates in a vote in which both the ambassadors of the 27 Member States to the EU representing the Council and the European Parliament have participated.
Both the Madrid City Council and the Ministry of Economy, which had worked together for the candidacy they presented last November, remained hopeful early this Thursday, but finally Madrid has lost the race in which it was competing with other eight cities.
The German was always in the lead. In the last round, with 54 votes at stake (27 from the Council and 27 from Parliament), Frankfurt has achieved 28, Madrid 16, Paris 6 and Rome another 4. In an unprecedented and at the same time absurd system, which has meant that Spain (like France or Italy) could not vote for itself, but rather did so in favor of the German city by the decision of the governments, while waiting for the at the same time the vote in favor of the MEPs.
“Congratulations to Frankfurt for choosing the new headquarters of the EU Anti-Money Laundering authority. We would have liked it to be in Madrid, but it could not be. From Spain we will contribute with our knowledge and cutting-edge experience in the fight against money laundering,” congratulated the Minister of Economy, Carlos Body, who has been very active in recent weeks in the campaign alongside the Mayor, José Luis Martínez-Almeida.
This process has been pioneering but difficult to replicate. Typically, the decision is made only by national governments, accustomed to this type of pact.. In theory, to do so, we must take into account geographical balances in the Union, the number of headquarters that each city or country already has, connections, infrastructure, the existence of a physical headquarters, facilities for employees and even business links. the area with the topic being discussed. Paris and Madrid, following this last aspect, had more weight due to their experience in the fight against money laundering.. But in the end it is politics, pure politics. Influence, power, movement capacity, resources and muscle. And few have more than Germany, which has waged a fierce campaign since the summer.
“Amla will be a game changer in the fight against dirty money in the EU. It will supervise the riskiest financial institutions, supervise the non-financial sector and play a crucial role in preventing evaders from evading specific financial sanctions,” highlighted co-rapporteurs Emil Radev (EPP, Bulgaria) and Eva Maria Poptcheva, from Ciudadanos.. The agency will be fully operational and its regulations in force from mid-2025, and is expected to have between 250 and 400 experts on staff..
The favorite of governments
The city of Hesse was the bet for the governments, since the headquarters of the European Central Bank is located there and it has an important financial weight in the country and therefore the entire EU.. The appointment system incorporated the European Parliament for the first time, but once the new law was in place, the trap was made. Despite the fact that it was chosen by simple majority and that each side had 27 votes, the fact that the Council closed ranks with its system to have the leading voice and opted for a single town made it easier to prevail over the possible wishes of the MEPs, who welcomed alternatives such as the Spanish one.
The two institutions first set their position separately. The ambassadors, after different rounds, opted for Frankfurt from the beginning and the pact was that whatever came out, they would support it without fissures later in the next phase. Even if that meant that Spain, Italy and France did not support their candidates. In these rounds, Madrid achieved some support, but little, insufficient among the Member States, which made any option impossible.. Despite the final result, at no time was it close or tight.
On the other hand, the European Parliament, which has to combine the preferences not only geographical but also of political groups, had many more limitations. In its internal meeting, it chose to support four of the nine candidates: Madrid, Paris, Rome and Frankfurt, definitively ruling out Brussels, Vienna, Vilnius, Riga or Dublin.. But by reaching the next phase with four options, the die was cast, although Spain was clearly the most liked of the nine.
When the last part was being faced, rumors began to proliferate about a possible maneuver by the MEPs to try to correct or change the process, aware that with this format another result was impossible, something that the Belgian presidency categorically denies.
Each bloc had up to 27 votes to give, but if the Council gave its votes to the German town, it was enough for one of the political groups of the European Parliament to second them to conclude the discussion, as happened in the end, with a simple nothing vote. further. Changing the system, at the last moment, was not an option, so some deputy wanted to try to close ranks with another candidate, at least to make it more difficult, but it didn't work either.. Madrid got 16, but with 6 for País and 4 for Rome, it was all over.