Pushing Spain’s claim over the sovereignty of Gibraltar is “a fundamental objective” for Spanish foreign policy, according to budget plans presented by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs in Madrid this week.
Gibraltar’s Conservative MEP Ashley Fox is compiling a dossier of constituent complaints and experiences of crossing the border in and out of Gibraltar. Mr Fox will hand the dossier to the EU Commission and says it will show Spain is acting “as an aggressor and not a European partner”, according to a report from the Gibraltar Chronicle.
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”.
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.
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.
Gibraltar Deputy Chief Minister Dr. Joseph Garcia highlighted the long and historic relationship between Gibraltar and the United States during a series of meetings in Washington. In a busy schedule Dr Garcia held meetings at the offices of both Democratic and Republican members of Congress on Capitol Hill.
United Kingdom Unite boss Len McCluskey gave ‘the fullest of assurances’ that he would influence a future Labor government in Britain to respect the wishes of the people of Gibraltar in any dealings with Spain.