MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Spain’s rapprochement policy towards Gibraltar confirmed in Congress

Foreign Secretary Miguel Angel Moratinos was the first Spanish minister to officially visit the Rock in centuries

The opposition Partido Popular motion tabled before the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Spanish Parliament claiming sovereignty over Gibraltar territorial waters was last night defeated by some 20 votes, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.

The motion tabled by Gustavo de Aristegui and defended by PP MP for Cadiz Jose Ignacio Landaluce was favoured only by the PP itself, standing rejected by PSOE with CiU and IU support.

The Spanish Government position was defended by Cadiz MP Rafael Roman one of the architects of PSOE’s rapprochement as state policy for Gibraltar. He was critical of the PP using Gibraltar as a weapon against the national government and instead defended the policy of Spain building relations with Gibraltarians and taking their political arguments directly to the people as had happened with the visit this summer by Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos.

The motion sought an apology from Britain for stopping Civil Guard vessels in Gibraltar waters.