James BryceBy Sally King
GIBRALTAR is appealing a decision by the European Court to throw out its claim for exclusive rights to its waters.
Gibraltar and the UK had filed a lawsuit calling for the waters surrounding the colony to become exclusively their territory.
But the EU has dismissed the case as ‘inadmissible on procedural grounds.’
Row
Chief Minister Peter Caruana hit back stating that the Rock will fight the ruling.
He said that under no circumstances would the waters be treated as anything other than ‘exclusive British sovereignty, under the jurisdiction of the Gibraltar Government.’
The row began after Brussels approved Spain’s request to list most of the area around the Rock as a protected area.
The article’s wording is very misleading. The waters ARE ‘British Gibraltar Territorial Waters’ and have been under British sovereignty for hundreds of years, as recognised by international shipping, navies, etc. The filing was done to highlight an EU error in recognising a Site of Community Interest (SCI), designated by Spain, which included BGTW. The UK, as the EU member state, had previously declared an SCI “Southern Waters of Gibraltar” before the Spanish designation. Spain therefore cannot have jurisdiction over the sovereign territorial waters of another member state, the UK.
Britain does not have any ‘colonies’ its an old outdated term used by Spain to try and deny Gibraltar exists. However under the UN Convention of the Law of the Sea (1982) Gibraltar has territorial seas. THAT is the status quo, the EU cannot change the UN convention.