MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Madrid sends Brexit “message of calm” to Spaniards who work in Gibraltar
The statement from Dastis was interpreted as a “message of calm” to Spaniards who work in Gibraltar, saying their interests will be kept in mind by Spain. Spain’s Foreign Minister, Alfonso Dastis, has told a leading German newspaper that Madrid will not be taking “any type of punitive measures” at the border with Gibraltar after Brexit. Dastis has made similar statements in recent days to Spanish media, but his comments to Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung are the first time he has spoken about the border to the international media.
They were published a day before Prime Minister Theresa May triggered Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union under Article 50 of the EU treaty, setting in motion a two-year process after which the UK – and by extension Gibraltar – will be outside the bloc.
The statement from Dastis was interpreted as a “message of calm” to Spaniards who work in Gibraltar, saying their interests will be kept in mind by Spain.
Gibraltar's Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said that minister Dastis’ latest comments show there has been a huge transition in tone from the antagonistic posture of his predecessor, Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo.
But, while the new Foreign Minister’s comments will provide some comfort to those who have to cross the frontier into Gibraltar to work, CM Picardo has warned that Spain’s sovereignty objective remains unchanged. Dastis has said he will not allow Gibraltar to achieve anything in the Brexit negotiations that undermines Spain’s sovereignty claim or her economic interests.
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Read all commentsThe Spanish say that the right to self-determination is not applicable to Gibraltar.
Mar 30th, 2017 - 11:10 am +1UNGA 1514 - While UN Resolution 1514, Declaration on the Granting of Independence of Colonial Countries and Peoples of 1960, upholds the commitment to an ‘inalienable’ right to freedom and decolonization and states in paragraph 2 ‘All people have the right to self-determination; by virtue of that right they freely determine their political status and freely pursue their economic, social and cultural development’, it also prompts the Spanish viewpoint that paragraph 6 of UN Resolution 1514 states, ‘any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the Charter of the United Nations.’ (UNGA 1514 (XV) Declaration on Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, 14 December 1960).
Worth looking at: Gibraltar: Territorial Integrity - https://www.academia.edu/29347730/Gibraltar_-Territorial_Integrity
@ TTT
Mar 30th, 2017 - 02:13 pm 0You should see a doctor.
Nostrils, how is the straight jacket? Are you typing with your Toes?
Mar 30th, 2017 - 02:24 pm 0Commenting for this story is now closed.
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