MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Gibraltar Breaking News.-

Headlines:
Tories pledge “no surrender” on sovereignty; Ban on cruises wins support; Gibraltar at Euro Maritime Conference; Gibraltar invites Spanish journalists.

Tories pledge "no surrender" on sovereignty

With the campaign for the United Kingdom South-West seat in the European elections starting to gather momentum, Conservative Party leader Michael Howard has said that "they will not surrender British sovereignty without the consent of the people of Gibraltar via a referendum." Mr Howard's pledge is contained in a letter written to Gibraltarian households published in the local Gibraltar press. Mr Howard who will be visiting Gibraltar as party leader this Monday, further states that a Tory Government in the future "will not be bound by any agreement reached without the explicit consent" of the Gibraltarians. "Only the Conservative Party will stand up for Gibraltar," added Mr Howard.

Ban on cruises wins support

Campo business association, the Federación de Empresarios del Campo de Gibraltar (FECG), publicly expressed agreement with the measures taken by the new Spanish Government banning the entry into Spanish ports of cruise liners whose previous destination was Gibraltar. The federation has requested a meeting with Madrid Government officials to discuss the current situation. According to Campo press reports spokesman Fernando Gil described the Spanish Government decision as "a fair one that partly compensates existing grievances held by the port of Algeciras in relation to Gibraltar". Mr. Gil said the federation has compiled a report in conjunction with the cruise liner industry in Algeciras to study whether it could attract this maritime business from Gibraltar while tourists would have the option of visiting the Rock by land so that the local economy would not lose out and La Linea, as had been pointed out by Mayor Juarez with concern, "would not be negatively affected by a detrimental effect on the Gibraltar economy." Mr Gil said their proposal would include the Algeciras port making available greater facilities for the berthing of cruise liners and said that attracting business as a port of call for cruise liners would be valuable international promotion for the city. Meanwhile Senator José Carracao from the ruling Socialist party said the measure was part of the policy of restrictions applied by successive Spanish governments towards Gibraltar.

Gibraltar at Euro Maritime Conference

Gibraltar is being represented at the 12th High Level Conference of the Alliance of Maritime Regions in Europe (AMRIE), which started last week in Genoa. The agenda of the Conference is the Trans-European Transport Networks consisting of four work sessions covering issues relating to the Transport Networks and Political Authorities; Trans-European Networks practical corridors, infrastructure and the so-called "motorways of the seas", the points of view of the stakeholders in the Networks; and a review of the work of the Specialist Working Groups of AMRIE. The Conference will be opened by the President of the Liguria Region, Mr Sandro Biasotti in the presence of the Mayor of Genoa. "The presence of Gibraltar at AMRIE is of considerable assistance to the port of Gibraltar", said Minister Joe Holliday. "It ensures that we are aware of new EU directives which impact on maritime matters while they are still being drafted, and can therefore influence them. It gives an opportunity, whenever necessary, for example in the case of the Prestige disaster, to ensure that an AMRIE position paper is prepared and circulated to all MEPs. It allows for networking with key persons in the maritime sector in Brussels. It provides us with access to an important series of their discussion papers on maritime matters. In addition, our membership is as a region and recognises we are a distinct European region. With regard specifically to the Trans-European Transport Networks, two of the "motorways of the sea" commence or finish at the Bay of Gibraltar. We need to consider how best to maximise the potential of these motorways."

Gibraltar invites Spanish journalists

As part of its on-going awareness campaign in Spain, the Gibraltar Tourist Board hosted a press trip for ten travel journalists and a three-man film crew from the cable network Canal Viajar that will be producing "the Gibraltar experience". Visitors were shown the main tourist sites and briefed on the potential of Gibraltar as a tourist destination for the Spanish market. As part of their visit, they attended the Ceremony of the Keys and the Gibraltar Museum open day last Saturday. Minister for Trade, Industry and Communications, Joe Holliday hosted a dinner for the visiting journalists. "It is important that we continue to put across the fact that Gibraltar has other activities apart from the main tourist sites that enhance our tourist product. We have a rich and diverse heritage and culture that sets us apart from other destinations", highlighted Minister Holliday.