Britain’s relationship with Spain could be damaged by the ongoing dispute over Gibraltar, Europe Minister David Lidington warned. Lidington told the Financial Times there was a danger the row would overshadow all other parts of the Anglo-Spanish relationship. “There is clearly a risk that this will cloud the bilateral relationship,” he said.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague in an update to Parliament on the Spain/Gibraltar situation (border delays and illegal incursions into BGTW) said that the UK government continues to collect evidence of the Spanish disproportionate unlawful border measures, to share with the European Commission before their monitoring mission arrives and is also keeping under review the option of taking direct legal action against the Spanish Government.
The dispute over Gibraltar figures low on the list of priorities for the average Spaniard, despite widespread media coverage and the fact that it taps into common feelings of national pride and identity, according to a survey conducted by the leading Spanish think tank Real Instituto Elcano both in Spain and the UK, and released on Sunday
The continuing fall in household income in Spain is causing many families to cut down on basic necessities such as food and it is estimated that a quarter of under-16, or 2.3 million are at risk of malnutrition, according to a recent statement by Gabriel González-Bueno, responsible for Child Policies at UNICEF in Spain.
Spain plans to fine bunkering companies operating in Gibraltar waters sums of up to two million Euros and the Finance ministry was planning to ban the sale of petroleum products to the Rock, particularly since they pay no VAT.
Brussels will determine whether the 70 cement blocks dumped in the Gibraltar bay are legal or not, according to the European Union spokesperson Olivier Bailly who anticipated an EC fact finding mission can be expected next month to visit the controversy area.
Spain will only discuss about fisheries with the UK after the blocks dumped into the Gibraltar bay have been removed, said foreign minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo in a Sunday interview with the right wing newspaper La Razon.
Britain rejected a Spanish proposal to hold one-on-one talks over the sovereignty of the contested British overseas territory (BOT) of Gibraltar after Spain issued an appeal for such negotiations to be held as soon as possible.
The following column was published on Tuesday’s edition of The Wall Street Journal displaying the Spanish position in the current dispute with Gibraltar and the border controls.
The column is credited to Jose Manuel García-Margallo who is Spain’s Foreign minister.
Gibraltar opposition Leader Daniel Feetham has urged a cooling down of the language in the row with Spain and confirmed that the GSD Opposition would agree to quadripartite talks with Spain so long as the Gibraltar delegation retained its own separate voice, vote and veto.