MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, March 29th 2024 - 16:01 UTC

 

 

Madrid insists with Gibraltar joint sovereignty

Thursday, May 13th 2004 - 21:00 UTC
Full article

In an interview with Madrid ABC newspaper, Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Angel Moratinos said that in his May 20 meeting with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in London he will pursue the fundamental idea of recovering the Gibraltar dialogue process under the Brussels process.

"I must pay tribute to my predecessor Josep Pique who took that process of negotiation to an important new level not seen in decades. I want to recover that position and give it a further impulse", said Mr. Moratinos.

Further on he insisted that the proposals based on the concept of joint sovereignty for Gibraltar were "still ideas and they have not been closed", but added that the essential is to recover the dialogue process.

When it was put to him that the electoral calendar does not favour talks (a reference to the UK election within a year) Mr. Moratinos said that nonetheless both sides should not shy away from dealing with the Gibraltar issue.

Preparations for the talks have been delayed by changes in the Spanish Foreign Ministry. Only last week José María Pons Irazazábal was appointed Director for Europe and he will be responsible for initial discussions before ministers meet. However the May 20 encounter has been described as broad based and not a Brussels session.

The Spanish Minister for Europe who succeeded Ramon de Miguel is Alberto Navarro González.

Two other areas of concern for Gibraltar will be in the agenda, Spanish pensions and the cruise liners ban imposed by Spain on those vessels that call in Gibraltar.

The latest case involved the Silver Wind, with 300 passengers, which was bound for Lisbon, Gibraltar and Cadiz. However the ship was instructed by the Cadiz Port Authority that it would not be allowed to dock if it visited Gibraltar first.

Categories: Falkland Islands.

Top Comments

Disclaimer & comment rules

Commenting for this story is now closed.
If you have a Facebook account, become a fan and comment on our Facebook Page!