Conservative MP accuses Spain of using Gibraltar

Date: 04 August 2014 at 08:47

A Conservative member of the UK Parliament has accused Spain of using the issue of Gibraltar to complicate other negotiations with Britain.

In a blog post also carried by right-leaning online magazine The Commentator, former Cabinet member John Redwood MP said Spain's wish to keep its own North African enclave of Ceuta violates arguments it uses to advance its claim to Gibraltar.

Mr Redwood says the UK believes in the free determination of peoples, and questions why Spain does not allow Catalonia a vote on its future.

Mr Redwood argues that while as a member of the UN Security Council, the UK has a role in promoting international peace, it should not lose sight of the idea that its foreign policy is in the first instance there to advance the country's own interests - even if backed by force, which he says, "you would rather not have to use".

The MP claims that the current threats or challenges to the UK do not primarily come from the Middle East, and are not usually violent in nature - citing the only two worrying challenges to Britain's family of territories as those to Gibraltar and the Falklands

GBC | Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation

Gibraltar: 310 Years British!

Monday, 04 August 2014 10:37

This weekend marked 310 years since an Anglo-Dutch force captured Gibraltar from Spain during the War of the Spanish Succession in 1-3rd August, 1704. British rule over the Rock was secured “in perpetuity” under the Treaty of Utrecht which was signed in 1713.

Many unsuccessful attempts have been made by Spain to retake Gibraltar, the most notable of which were the siege of 1727 and the Great Siege of Gibraltar (1779 to 1783).

Aug 04 - Gibraltar: 310 Years British!

John Redwood so far from the centre of power these days, his views can hardly be regarded as having any influence.
To suggest that threats to the UK do NOT come from the middleast, ISIS etc really does show that as was once suggested about him he is living on another planet.

PS
The most significant thing about today is not the Treaty of Utrecht but the anniversary of the start of WW1.
Would it not have been better to give examples of how Gibraltar supported the UK during that conflict.

During WW1 Gibraltar was a British military base the local population had no say in matters whatsoever. The first Gibraltar Legislative Council did not come until 1950 but the UK appointed Governor was still in charge

However during WW1 the Naval base was supporting the varies Allied navies and the town received many hospital ships transferring the wounded to shore for treatment plus it was an area for rest and recreation plus provisioning.

WW2 was very different but still under UK control.
Almost the entire population was evacuated, including 10,000 sent to London for their safety

Many were not repatriated until the mid 1950's

Gibraltarians therefore had no say in either WW1 or WW2 they were mere pawns to the British military. How many fought in those wars I do not know, but my Grandfathers did.

Spain will come under pressure to reverse frontier policies, says Gibraltar MEP

Date: 04 August 2014

Conservative MEP Ashley Fox says Spain will come under increasing pressure to reverse its frontier policies when the new European Commission is appointed in the Autumn. Last week Spain announced it would be allowing registered frontier workers to ‘jump the queue’ with the introduction of a new frontier workers’ pass. Mr Fox says he will personally intervene on Gibraltar’s behalf before the new Commission.

Ashley Fox, one of Gibraltar’s Six MEPs, says Spain is obliged under EU law to treat all EU nationals equally, especially on the issue of freedom of movement.He says Spain’s checks at the frontier are neither reasonable nor proportionate, and these latest changes do nothing to help the situation other than advance the interests of their own nationals.

Mr Fox says Spain will find itself under increasing pressure to end discriminatory treatment when the new EU Commission is appointed after the summer.

GBC | Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation

Anyone who has any doubts ( or who would like to think ) that the waters around Gibraltar are not British including those adjacent to the isthmus should take note of the video in this link.

VIDEO - EC ruling 'hugely significant', says Picardo

Date: 04 August 2014

The Chief Minister has described the European Commission's ruling that Gibraltar has not breached any environmental legislation in relation to bunkering, the eastside reclamation and the artificial reef as "hugely significant". Speaking to GBC, Fabian Picardo said the ruling is a huge step forward in snookering the Site of Commmunity Importance declared by Spain in the southern part of Gibraltar waters, and also in recognising at a European level that the waters off the isthmus are of British sovereignty, jurisdiction and control.

GBC | Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation

Government tells EC it's 'very concerned' about Spain's proposed frontier workers permit

Date: 06 August 2014

The government has told the European Commission that it's very concerned about Spain's intention to introduce permits for frontier workers. It's pointed out this would create special rights and privileges for one category of EU nationals over all others.

Number Six Convent Place says that, besides being discriminatory, the system is unworkable in practice. This is because as well as there being a red channel on the Spanish side, there would also have to be one on the Gibraltar side potentially all the way down Devil's Tower Road given the length of the queues Spain sometimes provokes. The government says this is clearly not going to happen.

The government has highlighted to the Commission that several workers and business organisations on both sides of the frontier are concerned by this development. It's also supplied the EC with the frontier data for July, which show there was an outgoing queue every day except on the 1st and the 2nd, when the Minister for Europe and the EU inspectors, respectively, visited the border. The longest delay for outgoing traffic was just two minutes short of three hours, while for incoming traffic it was nearly an hour and twenty minutes.

GBC | Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation

N.B. The red lane would potentially be more than a mile long and with the necessity to have 2 lanes, 1 red and 1 normal it would gridlock the whole of the North of Gibraltar.

Spanish frontier controls are disproportionate, says European Commission

Date: 06 August 2014

The European Commission is of the opinion that Spanish controls at the frontier are disproportionate.
Following the visit by the group of experts on the 2nd of July, the Commission has expressed serious concerns at the lack of progress from Spain, adding it’s also concerned at the complaints it continues to receive over lengthy queues.

GBC | Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation

Majority of Spanish workers will reject new frontier pass, says Spanish workers association

Juan Jose Uceda, leader of the Spanish workers association ASCTEG also a member of the Humanitarian Frontier group of concerned citizens, yesterday hit out strongly at the Spanish Government regarding the new frontier fast track pass for frontier workers,

The ASCTEG chairman said the proposed pass system by the Spanish Government would not work, because if the Gibraltar queues, he said “are implemented by Spain and those queues stretch back into Gibraltar and are controlled by the Gibraltar authorities, how can a system be introduced for only one sector of the frontier user, the ‘cross frontier workers’ as this would only work, if a similar preferential exit system for the same workers is introduced on the Gibraltar side. But I am sure that on the Gibraltar side they will not discriminate in this way against frontier users, we at ASCTEG and the Humanitarian Frontier Group also think this”.

He said that the motives (smuggling) that the Spanish Government has invented to form these disproportionate queues has been proven wrong, because smuggling at the level the spanish government keep saying does not exist.
Mr Uceda reiterated that this was the view of both ASCTEG and the Humanitarian Frontier group, ending that the whole situation was hypercritical!

Many of the workers see the biggest drawback or where they suspect the real reason behind the Spanish Governments sudden big humane heart in devising the idea is the direct involvement of the ‘Agencia Tributaria’ The official Spanish tax authority.


Full article
http://www.panorama.gi/localnews/hea...12226&offset=0

Gibraltar pre frontier

Neanderthals ate barbecued pigeon
Charred bones suggest our ancient relatives cooked the ancestors of feral pigeons on the embers of their fires

Neanderthals snacked on pigeons that they had toasted on open fires, according to researchers, adding to the menu of foods known to be eaten by our closest ancient relatives.

Leftovers of Neanderthal feasts were discovered in sediments that built up over millennia in the huge Gorham's Cave on the east face of Gibraltar, where generations of Neanderthals sheltered for nearly 100,000 years

Full article
Neanderthals ate barbecued pigeon | Science | theguardian.com

Also
Aug 07 - Gorham’s Cave Study Reveals Ground Breaking Findings on Interaction Between Neanderthals and Birds

Spain warns UK on Europe

Spain has warned the UK to stop ‘creating tension’ over Gibraltar or risk losing any prospect of Spanish support in its efforts to reform the European Union.

An anonymous source in the Spanish government told Europa Press that the UK’s decision to summon Spain’s ambassador in London over a shipping incident recently had been “disproportionate and lacking in any sense”.

Spain is also angry that the Foreign Office statement that day contained “false accusations” about the actions of the Spanish Navy and a claim that Prime Minister David Cameron

had discussed the matter with his counterpart Mariano Rajoy.

The Spanish government says there was no such conversation and that it is still waiting for explanations from No 10 Downing Street.

The Spanish source that spoke to Europa Press concluded that if the UK wanted Spain’s support in Europe, “this is not the best way to achieve that”.

“When you’re dealing with something as important as your membership of the EU and you need the understanding and backing of other member states, then to create a climate of tension [in relation to Gibraltar] doesn’t help one view other matters sympathetically,” the source said.

Gibraltar Chronicle - The Independent Daily First Published 1801

What a bunch of hypocritical clowns these Spanish politicians are! With any luck I'll be long gone before the next elections, I'm not waiting around to see if the Partido unPopular scam their way back in again.

EC Anti-Fraud Office recommends investigating Gibraltar, reports Spanish press

Date: 11 August 2014

The European Commission’s Anti-Fraud Office has told Spain there’s reason to suspect there’s tobacco smuggling and money laundering in Gibraltar.

This according to Spanish press reports, which say the Office wrote to Spain’s Revenue Department last month, recommending that the matter be investigated by Madrid and London.

Inspectors from the Anti-Fraud Office have reportedly visited Gibraltar on three occasions – two of which formed part of the wider European Commission inspections, which also looked at frontier queues.

The Spanish newspaper El Pais has construed the Anti-Fraud Office’s letter as a triumph for the Spanish Government and its justification of heightened frontier controls. Last week, it was reported that the European Commission believes the controls to be disproportionate, and has expressed serious concerns at the lack of progress from Spain on implementing its recommendations for aiding traffic flow

GBC | Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation

The El Pais article is here :-
La UE ve pruebas de contrabando de tabaco y blanqueo en Gibraltar | Política | EL PAÍS

However I can find no reference to this on the OLAF website ??

European Commission - OLAF - OLAF - European Anti-Fraud Office

If the report had said that there was no evidence of smuggling, money laundering would you not also have treated it as triumph over Spain.

Tweedle Dum Tweedle Dee.

I enjoy reading your posts re Gibraltar, Fred, always interesting and informative. And more to the point, you draw on facts without derision, something lacking on BE.