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Rajoy calls on UK for dialogue on Gibraltar, last ‘colonial anachronism’ in Europe

Thursday, September 26th 2013 - 21:29 UTC
Full article 15 comments

Addressing the UN General Assembly Spanish President Mariano Rajoy described the Gibraltar situation as a ‘colonial anachronism’ and criticized UK’s dialogue denial attitude on the Rock’s sovereignty. The speech comes at a tense moment in Gibraltar and Spain relations, but according to the Madrid press, Rajoy was less forceful than expected. Read full article

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  • A_Voice

    Spain’s global solidarity and its contribution to keeping international peace and security,
    .....what contribution?

    Sep 26th, 2013 - 09:51 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Conor J

    Does Spain sutler from short sightedness and memory loss?

    Sep 26th, 2013 - 10:41 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • CaptainSilver

    Què?

    Sep 26th, 2013 - 11:02 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Pete Bog

    “On the legitimacy granted by the universal doctrine of this General Assembly,”

    Meaning Self determination, which gives legitimacy to Gibraltar's aspirations.

    “Likewise he recalled Spain is the sixth contributor to the UN system and the eighth donor of humanitarian aid”

    Really?

    Sep 27th, 2013 - 12:24 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • screenname

    Rajoy: “Too many years have been lost”

    ...then let it rest and get on with running Spain

    Sep 27th, 2013 - 03:02 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • HansNiesund

    Or more precisely, Rajoy calls for the Gibraltarians to be excluded from dialogue.

    Sep 27th, 2013 - 07:42 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Monkeymagic

    He called Gibraltar the last colonial anachronism in Europe, but forgot to mention Spains colonial anachronisms in Morocco and the canary islands...hucking Fipocrite

    Sep 27th, 2013 - 08:17 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • GeoffWard2

    Well, #7, you see these are not in Europe.

    And you have to pity poor Rajoy - it's not just Andorra, any number of the Spanish mainland provinces (as well as the Balearics) might declare independence at any moment ... a bit like the UK, really!

    Sep 27th, 2013 - 02:05 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Room101

    ... anachronism“ is Spain's own view of freedom for self -determination.
    Gibraltar is demarcated as an island of free-will; not insular thinking
    Classic Projection together with, ”let's hide our internal problems by using daft assertions to divert our populace”

    Sep 27th, 2013 - 03:12 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • ChrisR

    8 GeoffWard2
    “might declare independence at any moment ... a bit like the UK, really!”

    Oh, Geoff, you little tease!

    Scotland are not so stupid as to give up the golden tit from the UK. And certainly not for Salmon Face now they have seen the lamentable “planning” he has come up with for “their future”.

    And ditto for Wales and N.I.

    Ha, ha, ha.

    Sep 27th, 2013 - 06:20 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • screenname

    @8 GeoffWard2:

    Catalan is the native language of the Balearics, and in my experience you will quickly be told where their loyalties lie if you speak to the locals: They look towards Barcelona, not Madrid.

    Sep 28th, 2013 - 02:11 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • GeoffWard2

    #11
    My point, repeated.

    Sep 28th, 2013 - 08:33 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Mr Ed

    Olivença is still occupied by Spain.

    Sep 28th, 2013 - 06:11 pm - Link - Report abuse 0
  • GeoffWard2

    Olivença? - I know this is a district in the oil-state of Alagoas, in Brasil, adjacently north of my adopted Bahia.

    Olivenza (Sp.)/Olivença (Por.) is situated on a disputed section of the border between Portugal and Spain. Presently it is administered by Spain as part of its territory.
    As Olivença, the town was under Portuguese sovereignty between 1297 and 1801 when it was ceded to Spain under the Treaty of Badajoz.
    Ten years later, Portugal invoked a 'self-revocation' of the Treaty, to claim back the territory.
    In 2008, Sp. & Por. towns local to Olivença/Olivenza reached an agreement to create a 'Euroregion'.

    So, Gibraltar and Spain can become a 'Euroregion' if there is a meeting of minds,
    like it does with the Galicia-North Portugal Euroregion, and
    around Olivença (EUROACE Euroregion), and
    with France (Pyrenees-Mediterranean Euroregion)
    ... and as the UK does with the Arc Manche Euroregion.

    but one has to ask - why did Spain not invoked a 'self-revocation' of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht that ceded Gibraltar to Great Britain ? - it has had the Olivença precedent since 1811.
    200 years of opportunity to develop a working relationship, during which its only attempts at regaining the Rock were abortive military attempts in the siege of 1727 and again with the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779 to 1783).

    Sep 29th, 2013 - 08:40 am - Link - Report abuse 0
  • Pete Bog

    “We can’t have a tax haven in the middle of the European Union nor can we have a territory that does not abide, as everybody knows with the most elemental environment rules” underlined Rajoy.”

    The Spanish and Argentines love this 'as everyone knows.'

    However as the Gibraltarians do abide with environmental rules (the blocks are the same that the Spanish use 'as everyone knows' to build up populations of undersea life).

    The blocks are preventing Spanish fishermen from carrying out illegal -un-environmentally friendly fishing methods that destroy the sea bed, 'as everyone knows.'

    And 'as everyone knows' Rajoy needs to correlate the use of Grecian 2000 on his hair with his beard.

    Sep 29th, 2013 - 02:15 pm - Link - Report abuse 0

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