MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar News.

Headlines:
Spain to challenge Gib-European vote; Gib Liberals invited to Asian conference; Spain claims Gib banks launder money; Praise for Kofi Annan decolonization statement.

Spain to challenge Gib-European vote.

Spain is considering challenging Britain's legislation to enfranchise Gibraltar for European Parliamentary elections according to the Spanish press. A report in El Mundo indicates that Spain now intends to proceed with action before the European Court of Justice despite an opinion of the European Commission that accepted the British position on this issue as legal. The move now amounts to a bid to overturn the laws recently passed in Britain and the Spanish newspaper claims could affect Britain's ability as a whole to vote in this year's elections to the European Parliament. It comes just weeks ahead of national elections in Spain. Since the Commission supported the right to vote and Britain's legislation plans in October, Spain had indicated it would not proceed. In December Ramon de Miguel, Spain's Minister for Europe said Spain would not take London to task before the European Court of Human Rights for authorising Gibraltarian citizens to vote in the European elections. But the issue was kept under review in Madrid and Mr. de Miguel had said publicly that although Spain would not be taking Britain to court over the issue in the immediate future, although the question of whether it was a possibility in the long-term was left open. Following Britain's enfranchisement of Gibraltar in time for the 2004 European Elections, Spain maintained that the British law exposes the European Union to votes from non-Europeans because of Commonwealth residents in Gibraltar. Spain has argued that Commonwealth citizens do not have the right of transit in the UK, and criticises the Gibraltar Government's local laws which allow Commonwealth citizens to vote in the European elections. The EU executive gave its view last October in a political declaration rather than a legal opinion in a bid to persuade the two countries to settle the dispute amicably, Commission spokesman Reijo Kemppinen told a news conference last October: "The Commission considers, following an in-depth analysis of the Spanish complaint and an oral hearing held on October 1, that the UK has organised the extension of voting rights to residents in Gibraltar within the margin of discretion presently given to member states by the EU law," the statement said. "Given the sensitivity of the underlying bilateral issue, the Commission at this stage refrains from adopting a reasoned opinion within the meaning of Article 227 of the Treaty and invites the parties to find an amicable solution," the statement said. Mr. Kemppinen added the declaration would not prevent the two sides taking the case to court if they so wished and the Commission could issue a legal opinion at a later stage. But the El Mundo article quoted a diplomatic source reiterating Spain's position that this "is not an anti-Gibraltarian move." Spain insists its only concern is the precedent that would be set allowing non-EU Commonwealth citizens the right to vote. The report says that Spain has noted that Britain has been ignoring its petitions in recent weeks and also suggests that Madrid is concerned at Britain's agreement to look at the Gibraltar Constitutional Reform proposals which El Mundo parallels with the plan Ibarretxe in Spain. The report also claims that a fortnight ago Minister Denis MacShane when in Madrid stated that another 20 years would have to pass before co-sovereignty proposals could be agreed.

Gib Liberals invited to Asian conference

The Liberal Party of Gibraltar has been invited to attend the Liberal International Asian Conference that opens next month in Taiwan. The conference will be addressed by the President of Taiwan and other delegates from Asian and European liberal parties. The Liberal Party of Taiwan (DPP), which holds the current Presidency and Vice Presidency, became full members of Liberal International at a meeting of the Executive Committee of LI held in Gibraltar in 2002.

Spain claims Gib banks launder money

Spanish Ambassador to Belgium Francisco Fernandez Fabregas has written a letter to the Wall Street Journal (Europe) challenging an editorial article describing Gibraltar's colonial status and the debate over its sovereignty. The original article which appeared on February 10 said that following the 2002 referendum and the failure by the British and Spanish Governments to get past the ?red line' issues, the subject of the Rock's sovereignty went quiet. It described Spain's boycott of Gibraltarian airline routes and communication links as well as the border controls, and concluded that the country's leaders should be able to come to an imaginative solution, considering their friendship. The reply from Ambassador Fernandez says Gibraltar benefits from a fiscal system ?declared illegal by the European Commission' and that ?Spain cannot aid the influx of even more money of dubious origin into banks' using as an example a statistic which reads; ?the colony has been the fifth biggest investor in Russia for a number of years". Mr. Fernandez then slates Gibraltar's ?continued pollution of the bay of Algeciras caused by ships taking on supplies illegally' and says Gibraltar constantly ?turns a blind eye to enable its trade with the rest of the Iberian Peninsula to grow on the basis of the absence of indirect taxation'. Ambassador Fernandez says it is up to Britain to include Gibraltar in the Schengen treaty, the customs union and other such European laws, and asks whether ?citizens not granted European status by Britain can take part in elections to the European Parliament'. Finally, the ambassador challenges the article's suggestion that Gibraltarians are in a permanent state of grievance when many of them ?live in Spain quite happily without paying tax'.

Praise for Kofi Annan decolonization statement

GSLP/Liberals expressed support for the remarks made by United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan that colonialism is an anachronism in the 21st century and the administering powers should work with the Committee of 24, and that "the colonial peoples should actively participate in the decolonisation process". A GSLP/Lib spokesman said: "It is significant that Mr Annan made no distinction between the 16 colonies that remain on the UN list, which includes Gibraltar. We have long maintained that Gibraltar should be treated no differently to the other territories that remain on the list, and that the way forward for decolonisation lies in negotiations between Gibraltar and UK, a process in which Spain plays no part." "We strongly support the call by the new Chairman for the Committee of 24 to constructively engage the people of the territories." "It is imperative to secure UN involvement in the decolonisation process between the UK and Gibraltar that will follow the tabling of the constitutional proposals in December and that the UN should send a visiting mission to Gibraltar to see the situation for themselves." "Over the last 12 months there is an added sense of urgency to the decolonisation process that did not exist before. This is reflected in the recent policy decision taken by UK to participate fully in the activities of the Committee, and in the pronouncements made by Kofi Annan and Robert Aisi this week. Gibraltar must not be left behind in the decolonisation process."