Britain has enshrined, in a written statement to the United Nations, its commitment that it will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content. And it has also reaffirmed its sovereignty over Gibraltar and its territorial waters, according to the Gibraltar Chronicle.
Spain has proposed sharing embassies, consulates and trade offices with its Latinamerican associate-members of the Pacific Alliance, Chile, Peru, Colombia and Mexico. Foreign minister Jose Manuel García Margallo said that the idea of sharing some embassies and consulates already is operational in the European Union.
Argentina has confirmed the purchase of 16 second hand Mirage F-1 decommissioned from the Spanish Air force in an operation valued at 170 million Euros. The expenditure is contemplated in the 2014 budget bill approved in the Lower House and which awaits debate in the Senate.
Spain will not be involved in ‘joint actions’ with Argentina regarding sovereignty claims over Gibraltar and Malvinas, said on Friday Spanish Foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo, arguing there had been ‘misinterpretations’ in the Argentine version of the bilateral ministerial meeting and which was first denied by the Moncla Palace.
President Mariano Rajoy making the round of financial media in New York this week, said Spain had emerged from recession in the third quarter with estimated economic growth of 0.1% to 0.2% forecast and 0.5% to 1% in 2014.
Addressing the UN General Assembly Spanish President Mariano Rajoy described the Gibraltar situation as a ‘colonial anachronism’ and criticized UK’s dialogue denial attitude on the Rock’s sovereignty. The speech comes at a tense moment in Gibraltar and Spain relations, but according to the Madrid press, Rajoy was less forceful than expected.
Argentina and Spain agreed on Thursday to team up to pressure Britain to discuss their separate claims on British territories: the Falklands in the south Atlantic and Gibraltar near the southern tip of Spain.
Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel García-Margallo has long been a vocal critic of Gibraltar’s competitive tax framework, denouncing the Rock as “a tax haven” despite its recognised compliance with international standards set by the EU and the OECD, among others.
The European Commission will send a fact-finding mission to the Gibraltar-Spain border on September 25 to assess Spanish customs controls and their impact on freedom of movement. The date for the mission was confirmed on Wednesday following days of wrangling over the scope of its mandate, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
The Gibraltar branch of Unite the Union has joined forces with Spanish unions Comisiones Obreras [CC.OO] and Unión General de Trabajadores [UGT] to underscore their collective concern at the deterioration of cross-border relations because of the on-going dispute.