Spain has been accused of an “outrageous” and “unlawful” violation of British sovereignty after boats entered UK waters in Gibraltar on Sunday. Helicopters were also flown over a beach on the British territory as Spanish police chased criminals on the water, a move branded extremely dangerous by the Government of Gibraltar.
Gibraltar has accused Spain of having chosen once again not to behave as European partners as a result of the latest pedestrian delays at the border. The Gibraltar Office in Brussels was asked to relay information to the European Commission on the latest delays caused by the introduction of an Automated Border Control system on the Spanish side.
The Gibraltar Government has included the long queues of last Thursday afternoon at the frontier with Spain in its latest report to the European Union. Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia said the report will be presented “in order to draw attention to the manner in which the Spanish government is implementing the recommendations made by the commission”.
Environment Ministers from the UK Overseas Territories (OTs) and Crown Dependencies (CDs) gathered together for the first time ever in Gibraltar’s Garrison Library last week to consider the environmental challenges facing the Territories.
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo explained in detail Gibraltar’s views on self-determination during a ‘cordial’ meeting with Ecuadorian diplomat Xavier Lasso Mendoza, the Chairman of the United Nations Decolonization Committee of 24, in New York on Tuesday, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo is in New York for a meeting with the Chairman of the UN’s Decolonization Committee of 24, ambassador Xavier Lasso Mendoza. The meeting arose from the Chief Minister’s intervention before the C24 last month, during which the Ecuadorian diplomat confirmed he had met with a Spanish government minister to discuss Gibraltar, according or a report from the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Gibraltar House in Brussels hosted a board meeting of the European Small Business Association (ESBA). The Gibraltar Federation of Small Businesses was a founding member of ESBA, and currently participates in it as a Board member. ESBA has its headquarters in the city and represents over one million small and medium-sized enterprises and self-employed people from 35 countries.
Spain will call on the European Commission to include Gibraltar on the EU blacklist of tax havens published last week, it emerged over the weekend. The list names the 30 top tax havens as identified by EU countries, but Gibraltar is not on it. Only nine of the EU’s 28 members - among them Spain - view the Rock as a harmful jurisdiction for taxation.
Two uniformed Spanish Guardia Civil officers attended the Queen’s Birthday Parade in Gibraltar, in a development that is unprecedented in recent times.
Spanish law enforcement officers are invited by The Convent every year to the event but, on the occasions they have attended in the past, they have done so in civilian clothing.
Gibraltarians will be able to vote in Britain’s referendum on whether to sever ties with the European Union. The franchise for referendum, promised by Prime Minister David Cameron by the end of 2017, will be based on that for a UK general election - meaning Irish, Maltese and Cypriots resident in the UK will get a vote, but other EU citizens will not.