Gibraltar plays a ‘vital’ role for the US Navy’s submarine operations at a time of increased Russian naval activity, a US think tank said. The Heritage Foundation made the statement in its Index of US Military Strength 2015, a wide-ranging annual research project that assesses the ability of the United States Armed Forces.
The British and Spanish foreign ministers sought to highlight a renewed drive toward an ‘ad hoc’ dialogue on Gibraltar this week, but in doing so drew firm red lines that signaled just how difficult that task will prove. The coordinated message was positive and hinted at the possibility of talks ‘in the near future’ if a format could be agreed. But on core issues, there was no change.
With the triumph on Sunday in Greece of the Syriza anti austerity party, Spain's version, Podemos under the leadership of Pablo Iglesias, and ahead in the opinion polls for the next national election, celebrated and addressed the issue of Gibraltar saying relations between the Rock and neighboring La Línea should not fall victim to political opportunism.
Had it not been for the 1982 Argentine invasion of the Falkland Islands, and the war that followed, Spain would have achieved through negotiations an 'irreversible solution' to the Gibraltar dispute with Great Britain, revealed Spanish diplomat, scholar and academic Jose Cuenca in his recently launched book, “From Adolfo Suarez to Gorbachev; an ambassador's testimonies and shared secrets”.
Jorge Domecq, the senior Spanish diplomat who headed the Gibraltar desk at the Spanish Foreign Ministry including during the Tripartite Forum period, has been appointed as the next European Defense Agency Chief Executive. This comes as a result of a selection process which started last December.
Spain tried to persuade US politicians to drop an initiative calling for the House of Representatives in Washington to formally recognize Gibraltar’s right to self-determination. The plea was contained in a letter from Spain’s ambassador to Washington, Ramon Gil-Casares, to Republican Congressman George Holding, who sponsored the bi-partisan resolution.
Gibraltar MEP Ashley Fox was elected this week leader of the British Conservative delegation in the European Parliament, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
The Gibraltar Chamber of Commerce has welcomed the announcement of new air links to the UK and to Morocco, highlighting the tourism and business opportunities they will create. In a statement, it said the addition of the Gibraltar-Bristol route would open up additional markets for visitors, both business people and tourists, from Wales and the south west of England.
Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia are in Washington DC for a series of commercial and political meetings, which took off at the US Chamber of Commerce building in order to support the formal accreditation of AmCham Gibraltar.
A reception was held on the evening of November 4, in the Palace of Westminster to celebrate the 20th Anniversary of the founding of the United Kingdom Overseas Territories Association (UKOTA), as reported by the Gibraltar Chronicle.