The Armando LaGrande Column 

Piqué's Royal pique...

There was the Spanish foreign minister Josep Pique saying that no one likes a British Royal visit to Gibraltar', presumably speaking for himself, because everyone in Gibraltar LIKES a Royal visit and would want MORE!

People like Pique think they are going to win over the people of Gibraltar by giving us some telephone lines or what-have you

My dear Pique, it goes much deeper than that!

YOU may not like British Royal visits. but you are not speaking for the people of Gibraltar, who think differently on this, and in so many other things.

What are people like Pique made of when they think they can meddle in the affairs of others?

How petty and how silly of them!

What is a pity is that the Foreign Office in London, those who are expected to defend US, should even want to stop any Royalty coming to Gibraltar.

They tried it when Prince Charles married Diana and the couple decided to start their Mediterranean honeymoon at Gibraltar. and why not?

The Spaniards got so upset that even their king refused to attend the actual wedding

We have seen other members of the Royal Family in Gibraltar under one guise or another, but they have come, although we miss the opportunity to display our feelings - whatever the Foreign Office or the Spanish Foreign Office might say.

After all, the Queen is OUR Queen, whether Pique likes it or not.

And that's what I have to say about it

Dog story

Oh dear, how petty can they get. The Spanish foreign ministry not wanting Spaniards to take part in a dog show because the show takes place in Gibraltar!

Such thinking is out of this world.

Unsporting, too

And they do not want our football to have its rightful place, like everyone else, in UEFA. the football ruling body in Europe.

Places like the Faroe islands have been allowed in, so why not us?

After all the GFA is one of Europe's oldest football associations.

If other small guys, with less history. are allowed to be members, surely UEFA cannot vote against us if they put sport above politics.

Agree?

And by the way the threat from the Spanish football federation, that if Gibraltar goes in, they walk out of ah European football, is an empty threat, as they well know.

Can anyone imagine the row that would erupt in Spain if their football stayed out of European competitions? The Spanish foreign ministry, who are behind ah this, would have to reverse the decision in no time.

Secret papers on Gibraltar

Pressing for ‘real UK citizenship’

Gibraltar had to put up a strong fight to secure UK citizenship in the 1970s, despite getting ‘NO’ for an answer on numerous occasions. But Peliza was a leading light in trying to turn the tables in Gibraltar’s favour.

THE QUESTION RAISED

Foreign office official to The Convent - “When Gibraltar Ministers were here in December they saw the Secretary of State and one of the subjects raised was the question of citizenship. In the words of the communique, the Secretary of State - “...undertook to consider the resolution on citizenship recently adopted by the Gibraltar House of Assembly, while holding out no prospect at this time that amendments to United Kingdom legislation concerned would be possible.”
You (and perhaps the Governor) may be interested to see, in this connection, the private departmental record of this part of the talks.
The subject of what further might be said to the Chief Minister on this score has been under consideration with the Home Office and the attached draft letter and talking points have been prepared and agreed inter-departmentally. Perhaps you would let us know if there are points which strike you as ones which have not been covered and which we ought to try to deal with, or if there are any amendments which we ought to make before submitting a draft on these lines for approval here. It would, of course, be helpful if we could have an early reply.
The talking points have not been prepared with use in Gibraltar in mind so much as for use at this end in case Ministers here should be tackled on the subject. However, there would of course be no objection to your drawing on them if the need should arise.”

REPLY FROM GIBRALTAR

The reply from Gibraltar, from Tom Oates, included the following:
“This matter of “real UK citizenship” was, of course, the subject of a House of Assembly Resolution, and I suppose the question may arise of informing the Assembly of HMG’s attitude. But I do not suggest that we should take the initiative on this. The IWBP/Isola Group certainly will not be keen on what to them would be a negative reply being passed on to the House of Assembly, lest the AACR Opposition, who abstained from voting on the Resolution, make capital out of the reply. If, however, the Opposition enquire about the outcome of the motion they will, I think, have to be told.”

FURTHER TALKS TURNED DOWN

Another FO official subsequently told The Convent:
“A formal reply for the Governor to convey to Gibraltar Ministers, reaffirming H.M.G.’s unwillingness to amend the Commonwealth Immigrants’ Act, and turning down the idea of further talks on citizenship, was prepared and approved by Ministers. Before it could be despatched, however, there came the announcement of the General Election here. In these circumstances the Minister of State wonders whether it is necessary or desirable to say anything further to Gibraltar Ministers on this subject for the present. So far as Lord Shepherd is aware, Gibraltar Ministers themselves have not reverted to the subject since their meeting with the Secretary of State and himself in London in December last year.
I imagine that in present circumstances, and especially after so long an interval, neither the Gibraltar Ministers - nor for that matter the Gibraltar Opposition Members - would expect to hear further from H.M.G. on such a subject, if indeed they were expecting any further reply at all. No doubt also they would in any case be taking stock of their own aims on this and other matters after the British General Election.
I have accordingly been asked to enquire whether the Governor would see any objection to theloose end about citizenship, deriving from the December talks, remaining a loose end and being left in abeyance unless or until Gibraltar Ministers themselves raise the question.”

CONSTITUTIONAL ADVANCE HAS NOTHING TO DO WITH TREATY OF UTRECHT, SAID PELIZA

Extracts from conversation between the Secretary of State and Gibraltar Ministers at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on Tuesday, 2 December, 1969 at 3.45 p.m.

Major Peliza asserted that the question of constitutional advancement had nothing to do with Spain, unless a modification of the Treaty of Utrecht was involved. He claimed that Gibraltar had a unique position, as the only European dependent territory of Britain where the people were denied U.K. citizenship. The Gibraltar House of Assembly had adopted, without a contrary vote, a Resolution calling for “real U.K. citizenship”. He therefore hoped that H.M.G. would agree to open discussions on this.

Mr. Stewart pointed out that Gibraltarians were already citizens of the U.K. and Colonies, as were people in this country, but that this status did not confer an unlimited freedom of movement. He understood that in practice no problems had arisen in respect of Gibraltarians wishing to move to the U.K. However, to afford them special treatment would give rise to difficult problems in regard to other dependent territories.

Lord Shepherd explained that the parallel the Gibraltar Ministers drew with the inhabitants of the Channel Islands and Isle of Man was not exact, since these territories had always been part of the U.K. and not dependencies. He added that to grant the Gibraltarians what they wished would involve the major reform of at least two Acts of Parliament, which would give rise to serious difficulties at this particular time.

In reply to a question from Mr. Stewart Major Peliza stated that although no practical difficulties had arisen, they were concerned that a Conservative Government and the Race Relations Board might take a line on citizenship inimical to Gibraltarian interests. Mr. Stewart doubted this, and Lord Shepherd reminded the Chief Minister that in September he had been told that there was no question of the Home Office redefining citizenship of the U.K. and Colonies.

Major Peliza pressed Mr. Stewart to give a commitment that the question of giving U.K. citizenship to Gibraltarians could be discussed more formally in due course. Mr. Stewart replied that he could not give any commitment on this point but that he has noted the views expressed by the Chief Minister. He undertook to have the question of citizenship and immigration into Britain looked into again but without holding out any prospect of anything coming out of it.

Talk of the Town 

Horror stories about the finance centre

I refer to the outburst about the dangers facing the Gibraltar economy with the very real threat to the financial centre and its tax-exempt companies.

It is well known that the OECD and others have been saying that tax havens must disappear, and whether we like it or not, that is what is coming.

There is also the EU, which has a number of such tax havens on its shores and, again, keep making noises about their undesirability.

More recently, we have heard that the EU have finally decided to investigate Gibraltar as the tax exempt companies appear to be in breach of EU regulations.

THE END

The end of tax havens and ah the attendant paraphernalia has been on the cards for many years.

Ah this is public knowledge at every level of public information. Those concerned in Gibraltar must have known all this was coming. Could they not have prepared plans to

soften the blow rather than leave it so late before doing something about it?

PHASED IN

I would agree with Nigel Feetham of Hassans that, arguably, it was only a matter of time before the European commission acted, and the government should not have simply waited for such action to be taken against the Finance Centre before initiating the process of tax reform, when the necessary changes to our tax legislation could have been phased in over a period of 3 years to ensure a continuing and viable Finance Centre

We now hear horror stories about mass unemployment, about severe cuts to living standards, and from Mr Caruana himself -surely if the situation is as serious as that, and if it has been known all along, something should have been done long ago to try and soften the blow by preparing whatever measures are considered prudent and necessary to tackle such a huge problem?

The chief minister has been drawing attention to the seriousness of the situation, but I cannot detect widespread concern by those who work in financial institutions. Is it, again, of people reacting when it is too late? Or do they know something, the rest do not know?

This attitude appears to be typical of the place, when people get their redundancy notices they will react!

It is to be hoped that, even at this late stage, that something can be done to find solutions to the problem. 

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