Italian 'Five Star Movement' Hopes to 'Shake' Government With Veneto Vote

Italy’s Five Star Movement (M5S) party hopes that Wednesday’s vote in the Veneto Council to drop sanctions against Russia would send a strong message to the Italian government and all Europe, an M5S member in Veneto told Sputnik.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) —The 51-seat Council in the northeastern Italian region voted Wednesday 27-9 to pass a resolution that urged the national government to condemn EU’s Crimea policy and work toward lifting sanctions against Russia.

“We hope our today vote will shake the Prime Minister and all the central government, starting from Veneto, going through Italy, across French and Germany and all Europe,” Berti Jacopo said.

He said the growing number of similar petitions across Europe would make local governments listen to people’s needs and act accordingly.

The majority in the French National Assembly voted last month to support a resolution that called on the French government to end sanctions against Russia, citing impact on the national economy.

According to Jacopo, Veneto lost $790 million in missed exports to Russia last year amid the sanctions policy, while the country’s total loss stood at over $4 billion.