OFF YOUR ROCKERS
Anger over bid to give Gibraltar back to Spain
EU bosses have been accused of using Brexit talks to help Spain snatch control of Gibraltar.
Draft guidelines for the negotiations, issued yesterday by Brussels, insist Madrid will be able to block any agreement that applies to the Rock.
Spain has signalled it wants to use Brexit to end Britain’s 300 year occupation and establish joint sovereignty.
The guidelines say: “After the UK leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the UK may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without agreement between Spain and the UK.”
Residents fear Brexit will mean the return of border checks between Spain and Gibraltar, choking the vital flow of 13,000 Spanish and EU workers who commute each day.
There are more than 500 financial service firms on the Rock.
They include subsidiaries of insurance companies such as Admiral. The outpost is also home to several major online gambling firms and a growing e-commerce market.
In June’s referendum, 96% of the 30,000 residents voted Remain.
The government there says it will not give up sovereignty “at any price”.
Tory MP Jack Lopresti, chairman of the all-party group on Gibraltar, said: “It’s shameful the EU have tried to allow Spain an effective veto over the future of British sovereign territory.”
And he accused Madrid of using Brexit as “a fig leaf for trouble-making”.
Labour MP Mary Creagh said hard Brexit supporters should be “ashamed they had destabilised Gibraltar”.
Tory MP Bob Neill promised: “Gibraltar’s friends in the UK will be watching very carefully. There will be no sell out.”
Lib Dem MP Tom Brake said: “This shows just how damaging the Govern- ment’s hard Brexit will be on this strategically important British territory.
“Theresa May must urgently produce a plan that protects the citizens of Gibraltar, including their businesses and communities. Any attempt to brush off the importance of this is a dereliction of duty by the Government.”
Lord Boswell, Tory chairman of the House of Lords EU Committee, blamed Theresa May for failing to mention Gibraltar in her Article 50 letter.
He said it was “unfortunate” the PM’s notification did not raise the Rock’s status and added: “The Government mustn’t give the impression that Gibraltar is an afterthought.”
Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis believes Brexit offers the chance of a new relationship with Gibraltar. A Spanish diplomat close to his way of thinking says co-sovereignty could be done in a way to cause least upset and allow Gibraltarians to protect their interests.
He said Mr Dastis was more diplomatic than predecessor José García-Margallo who vowed to “plant his flag” on the Rock.
“The Union flag will still fly over Gibraltar,” the diplomat said.
But a source close to the Gibraltar government vowed there would be no deal on co-sovereignty.
He added: “No, no, no. We are not going to change sovereignty at any cost. The people and the government are totally united on that.
“We are not going to give up our homeland. We have been here for 300 years and this will continue to be our home.”
The Foreign Office declined to comment but the move threatens to cast a shadow over the state visit by Spain’s King Felipe to London in June.
It’s shameful the EU has tried to allow Spain a veto over British territory TORY MP JACK LOPRESTI ALL-PARTY GIBRALTAR GROUP