Claire Wilson
THE Gibraltar Government will report every Spanish incursion into its territorial waters to the UN, in the latest chapter in a growing feud between the two powers.
The announcement came after a Spanish vessel conducting oceanographic research strayed into Gibraltarian waters, accompanied by three patrol boats from the Spanish Guardia Civil.
The Royal Navy and the Royal Gibraltar Police challenged the vessels’ crew, leading to a dispute during which the crew claimed to be operating within Spanish territory.
A spokesperson for the Rock said: “The Government takes a very serious view of the continuing incursions by Spanish state vessels into British Gibraltar territorial waters.”
It is a shame that in the 21st century a so-called modern democracy has to resort to bullying a small neighbour.
I think Spain are far from being a modern democracy when they tightly cling to a fascist regime they are all so used to. The Spanish government enjoy seeing the hardship that it inflicts on the EU workers everyday by unnecessarily delaying them at the UK/Spanish border. Spain need to stop using Gibraltar as a smokescreen & sort out their own corrupt government. Pronto!
I just cannot understand the rationale of the Spanish government. The Guardia Civil in Cadiz has no sea going vessels at the moment. Apart from the fact that a number are in a state of disrepair or lack the equipment to operate at night, their best assets have been relocated to Algeciras where they seem to be tasked with the pointless exercise of trying to assert their misguided rights in British Territorial Waters.
Meanwhile, the drug/ human traffickers have a free run from Africa to the many miles of isolated beaches near Cadiz.
Somehow I don’t think they have their priorities right.
Gibraltar need to start obeying to the treaty of utrecht which Spain and England signed not Gibraltar who are a Colony and this whole issue of Gibraltar is in violation of united nations resolutions from the 1960’s,enough of portraying Spain as a bully it’s the other way round. ps PR GAME THIS IS!
Booby, Spain need to start obeying the UN Charter and all it flows from it. That overtook the Treaty of Utrecht, which Spain abrogated with their first seige of Gibraltar anyway…
booby
The Treaty of Utrecht also stated that no Jews nor Moors should reside in Gibraltar. The Spanish breached the treaty first by attacking Gibraltar soon after the ink on the treaty dried. The fact that only the port of Gibraltar was ceded under the Treaty is irrelevant since it has long been established that a cession of territory automatically carries with it a cession of territorial waters. Like it or not, Gibraltar has 3-nautical miles of territorial waters.
Those old UN Resolutions were killed off on 21st June 1971 by the International Courts of Justice which gave an Advisory Opinion which stated, ‘Furthermore, the subsequent development of International Law in regard to non-self-governing territories, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, made the principle of self-determination applicable to all of them.’
And on Territorial Integrity – because of the Kosovo ruling, ‘the scope of the principle of territorial integrity is confined to the sphere of relations between states.’ In other words, the principle of territorial integrity does not impinge on the International Law of self-determination and independence.
booby,
Let’s be practical here.
I am going to mention some of today’s headlines in Spanish newspapers.
1.It’s easier, according to the World Bank, to open up a business in Southern Sudan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan than it is in Spain.
2. La Princesa Cristina is to be investigated for charging rent when her property wasn’t even rented.
3.There are more millionaires in Spain now than before the crisis.
4. Only 30 families dominate the Spanish economy.
5. The number of people living below the poverty line in Spain is increasing as well as the number of households where everyone is unemployed.
I don’t know about you, you might be one of the fortunate ones, but committing assets towards the “impossible dream” instead of trying to channel resources towards alleviating Spain’s countless problems seems illogical in the extreme.
Since when did a ‘fisheries research vessel’ ie a spy ship equipped with GPS ‘stray’ into British waters with an escort of armed police also equipped with GBP and charts, and why didn’t it leave when asked politely?
This sort of provocation fools nobody.
The Gibraltar Government is only doing this for propaganda purposes. It knows full well that neither Spain nor the UN accept its claim to territorial waters in the Bay of Algeciras. Indeed, the UN has consistently accepted Spain’s position with respect to the British colony of Gibraltar.
For example, UN GA Resolution 2429 (XXIII) declared the colonial situation in Gibraltar to be incompatible with the UN Charter and with previous Assembly resolutions, and called upon Britain to terminate the colonial situation in Gibraltar by 1 October 1969.
UN GA Resolution 3286 (XXIX) passed by the UN General Assembly on 13 December 1974 regretted the fact that the negotiations called for a year earlier “have not yet been effectively started” and called for them to do so without delay. Having decided that the best solution was for Britain and Spain to seek to achieve the decolonisation of Gibraltar through negotiation, the UN General Assembly saw (and sees) no further role for itself until they have done so. It left the Special Committee to monitor progress via annual reports from Britain under Article 73e of the UN Charter and to report these to the UN Fourth Committee.
In November 1980 the UN General Assembly noted that the two governments had signed the Lisbon Agreement with the intention of resolving the Gibraltar problem, thus putting on a formal footing the negotiations that Spain and the UN had been calling for since 1964.
A commitment to formal talks was eventually made by the Britain in November 1984, with the Lisbon agreement replaced by the Brussels Declaration, which went further by including an explicit commitment to discuss issues of sovereignty.
The UN General Assembly welcomed “the fact that both Governments agreed on 27 November 1984 at Brussels, in a joint statement, to apply by not later than 15 February 1985 the Lisbon Declaration in all its parts.”
UN Decision 42/418 of 1987 expressed the hope that the Brussels statement would provide the “definitive solution to the problem of Gibraltar in the light of relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and in the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations.” Thereafter the UN General Assembly Decisions have continued to reiterate the same sentiments which Britain continues to studiously ignore.
It’s instructive to note that in its latest draft annual resolution issued just this week, the UN Fourth Committee yet again urges Britain to reach a definitive solution to the question of Gibraltar, in the spirit of the Brussels Declaration of 27 November 1984.
I wonder whether Britain will continue to turn a deaf ear to Spain and the UN by refusing to implement its commitments to Spain under the Brussels Declaration?
Oh Dear Booby, what a load of old toss you do talk
@FurtherBeyond
Sorry, but where in any UN Resolution does it state that Gibraltar is or should be Spanish territory? Where does it state that the rights of the people of Gibraltar are not the same as those for any other Non Self Governing Territory on the UN C24 list?
All UN resolutions recognise that there is a dispute over sovereignty. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that a dispute exists. Everyone involved recognises that a dispute exists. What is holding back the decolonisation of Gibraltar is this dispute. Every time Gibraltar asks to be removed from the list of Non Self Governing Territories Spain blocks this, thus keeping Gibraltar in a colonial situation – something which the UN wants to end. Spain blocks Gibraltar’s decolonisation because Spain does not recognise the rights of the Gibraltarians, in spite of these rights flowing from the UN Charter which Spain has ratified.
The Brussels Agreement simply says that sovereignty is open to discussion, nothing extraordinary in that, discussing sovereignty when there is a dispute over sovereignty.. The dispute over sovereignty needs to end if Gibraltar is ever going to be decolonised. That is not the same as saying the only route to decolonisation for Gibraltar is a transfer of sovereignty to Spain, which is the position Spain maintains, in contravention of the UN Charter and all relevant UN Resoltuions.
The UN gives all NSGTs, including Gibraltar, four options for decolonisation. Independence, integration with another power, free association with another power or the fourth option, a status freely determined by the people of the territory. The UN has never limited the rights of the Gibraltarians.
The only propaganda with respect to Gibraltar is the nonsense which comes out of Spain. Spain’s position is ultimately unsustainable and Spain knows this very well, which is why Spain has so far refused to let the ICJ decide the matter.
A definitive solution to Gibraltar would be for the UK to give Gibraltar a seat in the House of Commons, in the same way as Spain allows representatives of Ceuta and Melilla in their parliament, and the french allow representatives in their parliament from their “departments” overseas. That way, Gibraltar would become an official part of the Uk. At the moment, I believe the MP for South Cornwall is Gibraltar’s “representative” in the Commons, I assume because it is the nearest part of Britain!
@ Iestyn ap Robert
Now THAT is very said! Succinct and to the point. Sensible and Logical. Well done !
Yea right crystal clear that was:
“The General Assembly, recalling its decision 67/530 of 18 December 2012: (a) Urges the Governments of Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, while listening to the interests and aspirations of Gibraltar that are legitimate under international law, to reach, in the spirit of the Brussels Declaration of 27 November 1984, a definitive solution to the question of Gibraltar, in the light of the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and applicable principles, and in the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations; (b) Takes note of the desire of the United Kingdom to continue with the trilateral Forum for Dialogue on Gibraltar; (c) Takes note of the position of Spain that the Forum does not exist any longer and should be replaced with a new mechanism for local cooperation in the interest of social well-being and regional economic development, in which the people of the Campo de Gibraltar and Gibraltar are represented; (d) Takes note of efforts made by both parties to resolve current problems and to engage in a flexible and responsive form of dialogue between all relevant and appropriate parties, on an informal ad hoc basis, in order to find common solutions and make progress on issues of mutual benefit.”
Chairmen may come, and chairmen may go, Governments will come and governments will go and on and on for another three hundred or more years. Never mind. Like the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said about removing the reef, Hell will freeze over before the people of Gibraltar would agree to give up its birth right or its birthplace to Spain or to anybody else for that matter. So sit back and wait. We might even see “Spain” disintegrate into independent states in all that time. We have all the time in the world.
And by the way when is Spain going to return Ceuta Melilla and its various other military enclaves in the African continent back to Morocco for its territorial integrity? And when is Spain going to return Olivenca to Portugal as per agreements signed by Spain?
When one talks about territorial integrity, let’s all be coherent and not hypocritical and self serving.
The UN General Assembly, to this day, lists Gibraltar as a territory that needs to be decolonised by the UK. Moreover, because Spain has ALWAYS maintained its claim to the restoration of its sovereignty over Gibraltar; it is a contested territory and the UN has been constrained to take this into account when considering any decolonization process.
The UN Special Committee on Decolonization reiterated as recently as June 2012 that ‘…ending the “special and particular” colonial situation relating to Gibraltar required a peaceful, negotiated settlement of the sovereignty dispute between Spain and the United Kingdom’.
The term ‘special and particular’ colonial situation refers to the fact that the current occupants of Gibraltar are not a subject or subdued population, which would otherwise have a right to self-determination, but a population transplanted by the United Kingdom which has no such right under international law.
This is the reason that the Special Committee continues to characterise the dispute as one of ‘sovereignty’ not self-determination. Moreover, the Treaty of Utrecht contains a reversionary clause providing that if Britain should ever decide to relinquish the sovereignty of Gibraltar, Spain would be entitled to reclaim it before any other option were considered; BOTH BRITAIN and Spain accept that this means ruling out independence for Gibraltar for as long as Spain retains its claim.
Even if Spain were to remove its sovereignty claim, the constitutional status of Gibraltar does not meet the standard UN criteria for de-listing. This is because the British Governor of Gibraltar continues to exercise power as an administering authority. Gibraltar’s argument that the UN misunderstands the role of the Governor, who acts on behalf of the Queen as Queen of Gibraltar, not on her behalf as Queen of the United Kingdom or on behalf of the UK Government, is not surprisingly, not seen as persuasive by the UN.
A further factor, that the UN must take into account in any decolonisation process, is that the isthmus that joins the town and the Rock of Gibraltar to the Iberian Peninsula, and on which the airport has been constructed, is not covered by the Treaty of Utrecht and its sovereignty is therefore the subject of a separate dispute between Britain and Spain.
Under international law, the right to self-determination does not apply to transplanted populations living in colonies on territory where there is a pre-existing sovereignty claim. This is the case with Gibraltar. Under international law, a coloniser cannot legally disrupt the territorial integrity of another State by implanting its own population unto the territory it is colonising.
If you’re confused about this then have a look at the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 9 July 2004 which states that ‘…under the terms of Article 49, paragraph 6, of the Fourth Geneva Convention … an Occupying Power shall not deport or transfer parts of its own civilian population into the territory it occupies. … Such policy and practices “have no legal validity” and constitute a “flagrant violation” of the Convention and are in breach of international law.’
In cases such as these, the inhabitants of the territory have a right to have their ‘interests’ considered but they have no right to unilaterally determine the NATIONALITY of the territory they live in.
Unfortunately, there is no point in Spain taking this issue to the ICJ as any enforcement action would require the unanimous agreement of the Security Council. It is very unlikely that the Security Council would agree to any such measure while the UK continues to have veto power in that Council.
Finally, unlike Gibraltar, Ceuta and Melilla are not considered to be colonial enclaves by the UN. They pre-exist the creation of the Moroccan State – they were Spanish hundreds of years before Morocco existed. In contrast Gibraltar was colonised by the UK while it was an integral part of the Kingdom of Spain.
Further Beyond as usual with your mental stumbling block.
You forget that the wishes of the Gibraltarians are clearly stated in the Preamble to our Constitution.
England will never do anything without the expressed wishes of the Gibraltarians. So you can bury, burn, or
stick the Brussels process in the shredder.
Gibraltarians do not want to be Spanish, Gibraltar is ours, British Gibraltarians, and neither Spain nor the incumbents of the fourth committee of the United Nations can do anything about that. So put that in your pipe and smoke it once and for all!
Spain demand over Gibraltar is based on the territorial integrity argument. Let’s hypothesize for a moment that Gibraltar became Spanish, would Spain then say that Portugal was part of Spain? And after that, France touches Spain – will they use the same argument? Then there’s Begium, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, to name but a few. Are they all Spanish too?
As a few people have already said. The Spanish arguments are all simply a smokescreen to divert away from their other problems.
Personally I think they should use the millions of euros they’ve spent against Gibraltar to pay the thousands of civil workers that haven’t been paid in 6 months. The ones that need to beg just to put food on their table, or shoes on their kids feet. That’s the real problem here!
Further beyond
You forget that the it was argued that there is in fact no principle in International Law or UN doctrine that can displace the inalienable right to self-determination. In this regard the UN 4th Committee rejected a claim that a dispute over sovereignty affected self-determination, affirming it to be a basic human right.
You must not forget the International Courts of Justice Advisory Opinion of 21st June 1971 – paragraph 52 states:
‘Furthermore, the subsequent development of International Law in regard to non-self-governing territories, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. made the principle of self-determination applicable to ALL of them.’
Now if you can produce anything from the UN ICJ or UN Fourth Committee that contradicts this, please produce it. (I know you can’t).
Could somebody please enlighten me. After all the accusations, intrusions, smear campaigns, rhetoric and border queues what has Spain achieved? Apart from the suffering of thousands of ordinary folk, frontier workers and tourists alike- absolutely nothing! Has she made any advances regarding her claim? Not at all!
A complete waste of time and resources by a country who cannot afford waste of any kind.
Adding to my previous, the following are the most damaging results of the recent, totally misconstrued, campaign against Gibraltar.
1. Mistrust, anger and hatred among those living on both sides of the border.
2. The destruction of that feeling of conviviality shared by the inhabitants of the Rock and the population of the surrounding area.
3. The reluctance of Gibraltarians and others living in Gibraltar to venture into Spain unless absolutely necessary.
4. The loss of much needed revenue for the already impoverished town of La Linea.
5. The loss of lucrative contracts by Spanish companies supplying Gibraltar.
6. The increase of unemployment in one of the areas with most unemployment in Spain.
On a human level, Spain’s strategy defies all logic. My personal opinion is that, individually and collectively, this current Spanish government has completely lost the plot and not just regarding Gibraltar.
El Fifi
Who has cast concrete blocks?. Rajoy?
Anselmo,
The daughter of the former Comandante de la Policia Nacional works in Gibraltar. Months before the concrete blocks were cast she told her work colleagues that police authorities had been ordered to create the longest possible queues over the summer.
I mentioned this in a Spanish speaking forum and since then none of my comments have been published.
By the way. 1. The said Comandante has since been substituted.2. Gibraltar bought the blocks from a Spanish company.
Then Picardo has acted as an agent of the PP ?
Anselmo
You do not seem to get it. The strategy was there all it needed was an excuse. You could argue that with the casting of the blocks, Fabian Picardo played into Spain’s hands or maybe he wanted to force the issue so that the matter of territorial waters could be finally resolved.
Look, if it hadn’t been the blocks it would have been the importation of sand or something else.
The PP government was intent on mischief from the outset to destroy all that had been previously achieved via cooperation with the previous administration. They were and are still intent on belittling Gibraltar’s status.
I’m sure you’re much better informed than I on this subject.
Actually Spain (and therefore, as its Prime Minister – Rajoy) DOES have concrete blocks a lot of the way up the Spanish coast (west), but of course they are DIFFERENT concrete blocks. (In the same way as Gibraltar is different from Melilla and Ceuta)
The reef installation must be in accordance with environmental impact studies, without destroying fishing grounds. The contrary is an offense punishable by imprisonment.
The UN urged the United Kingdom to decolonize Gibraltar, returning him to Spain. About Ceuta and Melilla the UN has not said anything.
In reply to the first, you are talking rubbish, Gibraltar has not “destroyed” fishing grounds, they are protecting fishing grounds as Spain purport to with their hundreds of Kilometres of the same blocks. And your second comment is pure fiction anselmo!!! The UN have never urged the uk to return Gibraltar – a country given to GB 300 years ago. As is the continued belief that the Ceuta – Melilla situation is different. I suspect the Moroccans will disagree but arrogant Spain will ignore that. The answer is get rid of the current rag bag of Franco’s cast offs governing this lovely country and put some hope back to all hearts (mainly in la Linea!!)
Anselmo. Once again you just show how little thought you put into your comments.
1. An environmental impact study was conducted
2. The very reason the reef was constructed was to prevent fishing. The reef is there expressly to “destroy a fishing ground”. This is exactly the same for more than 100 artificial reefs in Spanish waters.
The UK and Gibraltar repeatedly ask for Gibraltar to be removed from UN C24 list. Spain blocks this process every, so the only reason Gibraltar is not decolonised is because Spain blocks decolonisation. Spain can’t then go and complain that Gibraltar has not been decolonised.
Ceuta and Melilla are not on the UN C24 because Spain has never proposed their inclusion. The UK proposed Gibraltar’s inclusion in 1946. By accepting Gibraltar onto the list the UN recognised the rights of the Gibraltarians.
Anselmo there is not one environmentalist worth his salt and wary of his reputation that will stamp his signature on any report saying that the reef installation in British Gibraltar Territorial waters is prejudicial to the environment. Apart from the fact that the if there were any fish there they had long been decimated by the continued raking of ONE fishing boat, the Divina Providencia. Funnily nothing more has been heard about the monies that was going to be shared between the hundreds of fishing boats from Algeciras and La Linea who claimed to be losing their livelihood from all loss of fishing in that particular 60 by 200 metre ” Olympic swimming Pool”. Might be that their GPS’s have shown when checked that they were never near that particular area and have never been.
The united nations may have advised the decolonisation of Gibraltar but that does mean handing it over to another “coloniser” because after three hundred years of belonging to Britain that is what it would be, because its people are not Spanish, they are British Gibraltarians. If anything it should be independent, but that could happen if we had France or another democratic country as neighbours who would respect the wishes of the people. The wishes of the people of Gibraltar, unfortunately for Spain, are paramount.
Whether like it or you don’t Ceuta and Melilla are colonies, conquered by Portugal and then by taken away by Castile who implanted their Castilians to make sure that when Portugal held the referendum of whether the people wanted to remain with them or with Castile the majority were Castilians. Prior to that Ceuta and Melilla belonged to the Kingdom of Fez before it was conquered by Portugal, just as all the rest of the “enclaves” Spain holds in the northern African coast, and hold on to them if only to claim the right to the twelve miles of sea, which they deny Gibraltar. There is no treaty signed in perpetuity for these Spanish enclaves, they were just taken and held unlike Gibraltar which was handed to Spain in Perpetuity, for ever signed sealed and delivered. There is no clause that says it should be handed to Spain, so live with it. Give back Olivenca to the Portuguese, and return Galicia to Portugal whilst you are at it, it belonged to them before it belonged to imperialist Spain.
Anselmo
1.The UN asks the UK and Spain to discuss how to solve the Gibraltar dispute not to” hand Gibraltar back to Spain.”
2. Gibraltar is a dispute because Spain chooses to make it one. It could easily agree to it being British in perpetuity as one of the signatory of an international treaty. Hence, no dispute.
3. I suppose accepting the right of a people who have lived on the Rock for over 300 years to self determination, a right, according to the UN, that supersedes territorial integrity. would present Spain with many problems to the extent that the country could disintegrate altogether if the same principle was applied to all its regions.
4. Why can’t we all look forward to developing a region of Europe that has so much potential without getting bogged down in a political marshland that simply is going nowhere, creating animosity and preventing the economical progress that Gibraltar’s surrounding area so badly needs. After all, national pride does not fill up hungry stomachs.
Madrid doesn’t give a continental about hungry stomaches Er Fifi. It never has…
There have been problems in the UK too, but what would have happened in the UK if civil servants hadn’t been paid in 6 months? What would the worldwide press have said? The Spanish Government is using the issue over Gibraltar to divert the worldwide press for seeing exactly that problem in Spain. It’s politics!
Because of monetary problems, and other things, I would not be surprised to see Spain fall apart into region states over the next few years. And if that happens the Gibraltar issue will be solved – if Spain as a country no longer exists, then there is no more problem.
España perdió Gibraltar por un desembarco inglés aprovechando una crisis sucesoria. Los ingleses mataron y expulsaron a la población original. De la misma forma, pero en sentido inverso se recuperará Gibraltar y se firmará otro tratado donde se plasmará la soberanía española a perpetuidad. Eso es todo.
Londres está a más de 1000 km…
Ja, ja Fifi tus planteamientos están sesgados y mucho.
Es un planteamiento desde el punto de vista de un habitante de un pueblo-colonia de 30.000 habitantes que ha provocado la ruina a toda la zona aledaña. Nosotros, la mayoría de los españoles, pensamos a nivel de nación y podemos permitirnos la pérdida de esos lucrativos “negocios”.
A nivel estratégico significa que os va a salir mucho más cara vuestra vida. Vais a sufrir psicológicamente cada vez que crucéis la verja. Vais a limitaros a estar en 4 km2 de tierra (de los 6 de la colonia). Vais a ser más pobres ya que bajará el contrabando y la llegada de dinero negro, etc.
¿Lo pillas?
Te suena Hong Kong…ahora se llama Región Administrativa Especial de Hong Kong de la República Popular China. Tardará más o menos pero seréis la Ciudad Autónoma de Gibraltar, encuadrada en el Reino de España.
Id sumando hecho a hecho…y recordad el principio de cercanía. La Península Ibérica está a 1000 km del R.U. y en el mismo momento que vuestros “amos” tengan garantizados el uso de la base lo demás les sobra. Gibraltar es un anacronismo.
Hong Kong está a miles de km del R.U.; Gib está a 1.000 km. del R.U., Ceuta está a 16 km. de España. Es fácil de entender.
España, a pesar de su crisis, no ha estado tan bien económicamente desde hace 3 siglos (cuando perdimos GIB). A pesar del lobby llanito en Londres…¿Qué pasaría si Santander, Telefónica, etc, pagasen más dinero a vuestros corruptos (como los españoles) diputados?.
Pues yo lo veo claro.
Y no os preocupéis por el R.U., ellos seguirán teniendo paraísos en Man, Jersey, Isla Vírgenes, etc. Un paraíso fiscal menos no es importante.
Oh dear aaaa
Hong Kong was an agreement for 100 years – no more, no less. Once that 100 years was up Britain gave Hong Kong back.
Britain was given Gibraltar FOREVER. The only way the status will change is if Gibraltar becomes completely independent. It will never be Spanish.
“aaaa” – you threaten that life will be difficult if we do not become Spanish, we will be restricted to a small area. It is better that we have that than be Spanish. That is the reason that Spaniards are moving into Gibraltar to live! They would prefer to live here than in the dying nation that is currently called Spain, but may soon be known as Andalucia, and Cataluña, etc…
As far as distance from Britain. We have no worries there, after all the Falkland Islands are 12500km from Britain, I don’t think I need to explain myself there do I?
And finally, as far as Gibraltar being a “Tax Haven”, you need to look at today’s newspapers. The EU confirmed that Gibraltar was fully up to date with the transposition of EU legislation in all three fields of the areas that were tested. Or perhaps that information has been hidden in the Spanish newspapers?
The Spanish seem worried that Gibraltar is a Fiscal Paradise (unlike, for example… Andorra). They also seem concerned that we should realise that Gibraltar is different from Melilla and Ceuta because those cities are on a different continent and we Europeans should know better. Or something. Few Spaniards, however, seem to worry about the very people themselves who live in Gibraltar, but then, they don’t worry much about the 600,000 people who are unfortunate enough to live in an ‘illegal’ house in Andalucía either.
aaaa
Oh dear,you seem to be rather upset. I sense a certain amount of anger and frustration in your comments. You can wish all you want but the reality is far different. Gibraltar is a thriving community whereas the surrounding area is in dire straits. A pity because we could be helping it out even more than we are doing so at present. Still, one can’t influence those brilliant strategists in Madrid.
By the way, the EU has stated today Gibraltar is compliant with all of its financial directives. Somehow, these money laundering accusations do not seem to hold much water.
And in Gibraltar anybody caught transgressing the law is swiftly brought to account. Perhaps Spain’s judicial system could learn from this.
A bit of medical advice now. Don’t let your blood pressure rise over something you wish for yet cannot have. It’s not really worth it.
The Isle of Man is independent, it sets and gathers its own taxes. It also has the oldest working Government in the world. It is dependent on the UK for Defence but nothing else!
Jersey is very similar to Ceuta y Melilla.
But what about Canarias? Do they pay the same taxes as mainland Spain? Are there companies based there avoiding full taxation in other countries?
Spain has accused Gibraltar of tax offences, the EU says Gibraltar is fine. If Spain still thinks there’s a problem then let’s go to court! Spain has had several chances to go to the European courts with Gibraltar and has pulled out every time.
Whatever anyone says, the Spanish politicians and their advisers are very clever. They know how to play the political game, and they know that if they went to court with Gibraltar they would lose. And instead of being successful politicians who fought against Gibraltar their whole lives, they would be remembered as failures – and that’s what they’re scared of.
To aaaa, you could give it another 300 years and your economy will still be no good with your policticians. As for Santander the Spanish have run that bank into the ground, they are only 20% as good as they used to be before the Spanish took over, they really have gone down hill. Just because Cueta etc are closer makes no difference. You must be a Mayor with that justification.
There aaaa (,perhaps, aaaaagghh!!!). I think if you can read english, you have your answer here from, I suspect some staunch Gibraltarians, and some enlightened UK people, and possibly english speaking spanish. Once you and your ilk realise that you can never win, your corrupt government of francoist lackeys are using this as a huge smokescreen they have cleverly built up into the biggest fiasco for some time, and that Gibraltar will always be British (unless it is allowed total independence as an autonomous Country), the world will be a better place. The fact that Gibraltar is joined to Spain, is as has been pointed out many times, totally irrelevant, as so is Portugal, and France. and others.
Wake up to reality and accept it, and lets move on.
aaaa
1.This is an English speaking forum. I take it you are conversant with the language as you have understood the comments yet you choose to answer in Spanish. I find this rather impolite. You must understand that many readers access this on line paper simply because they do not understand Spanish and they are entitled to read all comments.
2. Try writing in English like Anselmo. I don’t agree with his points but his writing has improved.
3. Here are some of the stories carried in Spanish newspapers today.
A. Owners of El Grupo Damm—tax evasion.
b.Duque de Palma’s palace held as collateral as he hasn’t paid his bail.
C. Barcenas–ex PP secretary refuses to answer question in court because he is too old.
D.El caso Gurtel–illegal awarding of contracts by the PP administration of Madrid between 2004—2008.
If you guys are not careful, Spain will be just as divided as it was 300 years ago when they lost Gibraltar.
anyone see this ? BBC Imagine Gibraltar My Rock…. well worth watching….it explains a lot….
Evil
If the Spanish Government is distracting public opinion with Gibraltar,Picerdo is acting as an agent of the Spanish Goverment.
El Fifi
2. Thanks!
3. I think that corruption is a big problem, but it is not so catastrophic as You fear. In the fight against corruption I think that is important to finish with some practises made in Gibraltar
Nurse!!! He’s out of bed again!