Britain’s Europe Minister David Lidington toured the Gibraltar border on Monday evening and received an on-the-spot briefing from Chief Minister Fabian Picardo on the human impact of Spanish controls.
The Minister for Europe, David Lidington, will visit Gibraltar on Monday 30 June and Tuesday 1 July. The visit will enable the Minister to visit the Gibraltar-Spain border to witness first-hand the continuing delays at the crossing, to hold discussions with HM Government of Gibraltar, and to meet a wide range of the people of Gibraltar.
The Government of Gibraltar has signed its first power purchase agreement for the provision of renewable energy. The agreement, which is with Eco Wave Power, is for the provision of an initial 0.5MW energy device on the eastside of the Rock.
British naval officer in charge of the UK’s submarine fleet has been appointed as the new Commander British Forces in Gibraltar, with effect from August 5. Commodore Ian McGhrie will succeed Commodore John Clink, who will be promoted to Rear Admiral and will take on the 2-Star appointment of Flag Officer Scotland, Northern Ireland and Northern England and Flag Officer Reserves.
The Gibraltar Government’s recently-appointed representative in Hong Kong, Jason Cruz, will succeed Albert Poggio as the Rock’s man in London in two years’ time, it was revealed in Parliament by Chief Minister Fabian Picardo who confirmed the decision as he answered Opposition questions about Mr Cruz’s salary and employment package.
Manuel Chaves, the PSOE (Socialist opposition party) MP and former president of the Junta de Andalucia, has said Spain’s policy on Gibraltar “is going nowhere” because Gibraltarians are the ones who will decide their own future.
A form of “nominal” co-sovereignty to be guaranteed UK, Spain and the EEC was proposed by Gibraltar Chief Minister, the late Sir Joshua Hassan, in January 1978, according to papers newly-released to The National Archives.
The Gibraltar Government is strengthening its lobbying presence in Brussels and Washington in order to ensure that the profile of Gibraltar is heightened at a political level. The Government plans to expand its representation in Brussels along similar lines to the Gibraltar London office.
The UK Ministry of Defense has played down claims that the British Government is to send additional military personnel to Gibraltar. The announcement follows reports in the Daily Express over the weekend that the British Government was to deploy additional sailors to Gibraltar to allow the Royal Navy to operate patrol boats 24 hours a day to challenge “nightmare incursions by Spanish fishing trawlers.”
The British Government torpedoed Spain’s bid to host the 2020 Olympic Games as a reprisal for the Spanish Government’s hard line stance on Gibraltar, Sir Graham Watson has claimed.