Spain has little prospect of gaining joint sovereignty over Gibraltar, Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said this weekend as he acknowledged that Gibraltarians “have a right” to reject the offer. In an interview with the leading Spanish newspaper El País, the foreign minister insisted any post-Brexit relationship between Gibraltar and the EU must first be agreed by the UK and Spain.
The fall in the pound has boosted trade in Gibraltar as neighbouring Spaniards flock to the Rock territory where their Euros buy them more, Chief Minister Fabian Picardo has said. Gibraltar’s stores and supermarkets are filled with Spanish people picking up their weekly shop.
Britain has dismissed a formal Spanish request for bilateral dialogue over Gibraltar, the Gibraltar Chronicle has published. A letter from acting Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo was handed to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office by a senior official from the Spanish embassy in London on September 20.
The British Ambassador to Madrid has defended Gibraltar against attempts by the Spanish Foreign Minister to portray Gibraltar as a tax haven. In a letter published in El País Simon Manley says Jose Manuel García-Margallo is mistaken in his view, pointing out that Gibraltar has taken important steps to ensure that its tax system is open and fair.
Gibraltar and Falkland Islands flatly deny any “colonial situations” as was referred to by the foreign ministers of Spain and Argentina, and regret profoundly that two large countries with democratic credentials “seek to gang up to bully two very small territories and in the process completely ignore the right of their people to choose what they want to be”.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo became on Sunday the first foreign official to be received by president-elect Mauricio Macri after he won the November 22 runoff election, and announced a new 'spectacular' era is beginning in Madrid’s relations with Argentina.
Britain cannot allow Spain to continue to ignore international law and bully Gibraltar, said MP Andrew Rosindell following the latest incursion in Gibraltar waters, this time a Spanish Customs crew that actually fired shots to a British-Gibraltarian fishing cruise.
Spain’s Foreign Minister, José Manuel García-Margallo, came under flak from the opposition PSOE for his ‘frivolous and inappropriate’ comments about Gibraltar, which were dubbed ‘Francoist’ by one Socialist politician, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
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.
Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, said he was “absolutely convinced” that the British Government backed Spain’s bid to join the UN Security Council as a non-permanent member.