The appliance course of has not but opened, neither is there an official checklist of candidate cities, however Spain is assured the headquarters of the EU’s new anti-money laundering authority (AMLA) needs to be in Madrid.
“We consider that Madrid deserves to host an institutional illustration of Europe,” stated Juan Manuel López Zafra, director common for the economic system of the Group of Madrid, throughout an off-the-cuff presentation of Madrid’s candidacy in Brussels on Wednesday (Could 31).
Not one of the EU’s 35 decentralised companies are situated within the Spanish capital, regardless of the actual fact Spain has the fourth-largest economic system within the eurozone.
It does host three EU companies exterior Madrid, however none of them are associated to the financial or monetary area, Zafra stated.
The plan is for AMLA to have 150 workers in its first 12 months of operation and between 300 and 350 within the following two years, earlier than “most likely” reaching 400, in line with a European Fee memo dated 10 Could and seen by EUobserver.
Madrid has already provided a 50-storey skyscraper as a part of its Brussels allure offensive, nevertheless it’s not alone in expressing its intention to use.
Paris, Frankfurt, Luxembourg, Vienna, Riga, and Vilnius are additionally competing for the company.
However the allocation will have in mind the geographical distribution of present European companies, which might make the primary three much less viable.
Eire shall be making use of too, however has not specified whether or not the candidate metropolis shall be its capital, which already hosts Eurofound, or one other metropolis.
The Hague was initially within the working, however later withdrew its curiosity on account of fierce competitors from different EU members.
In the meantime, for Spain, not having one other company or authority of this kind (as is the case in Paris and Frankfurt) is seen as an asset.
“We might be organising a watchdog and to some extent it’s good to have it separate from the large monetary centres,” stated Carlos Cuerpo, the secretary common of the Spanish Treasury, throughout a press convention held earlier than the presentation in Brussels on Wednesday.
The “high quality of the nationwide AML framework” was additionally listed within the EU Fee’s AMLA standards.
And Spain’s is within the high two within the EU in line with the Monetary Motion Process Pressure (FATF), an intergovernmental physique in Paris, whereas Austria and Luxembourg have decrease scores.
AMLA’s exact job description remains to be being labored out by the European Parliament, EU Fee, and the member states.
However it has already been advised it should deal with regulation and supervision of the monetary sector, as coordinating the monetary intelligence models of all 27 EU states.
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And in that sense, AMLA’s institutional design already matched the one in Spain, in line with FATF’s glittering description.
Minor AMLA-location standards embrace: proximity to airports and inns, digital infrastructure, availability of multilingual colleges for workers youngsters and job alternatives for his or her companions.
And with these in thoughts, Madrid has already considered a location: the Glass Tower, a 250-metre excessive, 50-storey skyscraper within the coronary heart of the Spanish capital’s monetary centre, whose capability may very well be as much as 450 individuals.
The headquarters could be prepared to be used “as quickly as attainable”, stated Madrid metropolis councillor Saura.
And if chosen, the lease would even be paid for by Madrid Metropolis Council.
However because the race heats up, there is no such thing as a specific authorized foundation within the EU’s authorized treaties for the best way to arrange an EU company.
Initially, they have been created by Council rules, however for the reason that 2000s, companies have been arrange by the EU parliament and the Council, in areas the place parliament has powers as co-legislator.
The appliance course of will open any day now.
It would finish within the coming months earlier than the European elections (June 2024), which may overlap with the Spanish EU presidency.
However Madrid’s Cuerpo did not see any danger of battle of curiosity.
“The choice course of will go forward irrespectively of who holds the [EU]presidency, and we shall be very respectful of our personal function”, he stated.
