The EU ‘bullying’ of Gibraltar must stop, says deputy leader

A TOP European thinktank has been told Gibraltar feels ‘hard done’ by EU ‘bullying’ of the territory.

Gibraltar Deputy Chief Minister Joseph Garcia pleaded for decency with the influential European Policy Centre in Brussels.

Garcia said “conflict and confrontation” should be replaced by “dialogue and cooperation” as Gibraltar has always respected the EU.

The leader of the Liberal party has been a lifelong Europhile but is now seeing what it is like to be in the Brussels crosshairs.

The EU has taken a hard line on the Rock, giving Spain a double veto on Gibraltar’s access to the Future Trade Agreement.

He said the ‘bullying of a tiny territory by a huge supranational organisation’ seems to suggest that ‘anything goes’ when it comes to Gibraltar.

Instead, Garcia pushed the EU to make the Gibraltar frontier an example of the body’s goals.

“The people of Gibraltar faced up to the Spanish dictator and endured nearly sixteen years locked up in a few square kilometres”, he said. 

“This cannot be allowed to happen ever again.

“The manner in which persons and goods cross the border after 31 December 2020 is vital to

increasing the level of shared prosperity that already exists.”