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Airport deal in autumn possible, says Caruana
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An early airport deal is being predicted by both chief minister Peter Caruana and the Spanish secretary of state Bernardino Leon after their working dinner in a Torremolinos restaurant on Tuesday night. The aim is to have this ready by the autumn when foreign secretary Jack Straw and his Spanish counterpart Miguel Angel Moratinos, together with Mr Caruana, plan a first 'full ministerial' meeting under the trilateral process.
Mr Caruana says that the position now is as was arrived at in the recent Portugal meeting, with a couple of obstacles on the way. He gives the impression that the Spaniards will shift their position and make a deal possible.
Sr Leon told reporters in Torremolinos that the meeting had been "very cordial and -fruitful". Both he and Mr Caruana had gone through the work undertaken in the previous two sessions.
Mr Caruana said that the airport was the most advanced question but that a final solution had not yet been reached.
The Spanish government have been claiming that the isthmus on which the airport stands is not British territory but territory of Spanish sovereignty, and seek a move on this question.
However, Mr Caruana is said to be resisting on this point and wants a deal that will not affect sovereignty in any way.
Both sides are saying that the negotiations are advancing.
It is not clear if either side is expecting the other to shift from its position to achieve solutions.
While Mr Caruana is emphatic that sovereignty must not be affected, he has not revealed in which areas there has been agreement.
If it is going to be a single terminal, will it be under the exclusive control of the Gibraltar authorities or will it be shared with the Spanish?
Will there be a joint management company set up for the operation of the terminal?
The building that will be built in La Linea by the Spanish will it be a terminal of sorts?
People are entitled to ask questions due to the paucity of information that is being made available so far.
CAMPO WELCOME
Meanwhile, the president of the Campo mancomunidad, Juan Montedeoca, yesterday welcomed the will to make progress on the joint use of the airport, which he described as an infratructure of the first degree for transport in the Campo area.
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