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The spectre of sovereignty
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Panoramic View
by Joe Garcia
The collapse of flights to Gibraltar from Spain should not suprise anyone, as the troubled airline Andalus was never thought to offer any real guarantees of continuity.
They have not been able to keep the Madrid route going, let alone start flights to Barcelona...or Bilbao...or other destinations as mentioned in the past.
There were those in Gibraltar who welcomed the Spanish flights with misplaced enthusiasm, saying they could now go to the theatre in Madrid, or watch Real Madrid play football in the Spanish capital. What fanciful ideas, certainly not based on realistic assessments of the situation.
There was a lot of wishful thinking on the part of the Government as well. They are committed politically to seek success in the air, as is the Spanish Government who presented the 'joint use' of the airport as the centre-piece of the tripartite talks.
But the lesson that one hopes will have been learnt is that you cannot impose what the public does not want.The three governments are now discussing such delicate and sensitive issues as police and justice cooperation, not forgetting the waters of the bay.
Is it not best to have a tripartite process alive, but used only for topics that clearly demand it and not to try to force the issue because, as is already being shown, we could end up with a moribund tripartite forum.
Some might welcome bringing the process to an end because they see it as a ploy to get sovereignty talks going.
Sovereignty also features prominently in the current row over territorial waters.
If the tripartite talks are allowed to proceed in a senseless manner, to suit fanciful political aims and not genuine public requirements, the spectre of sovereignty will sooner or later win the way.
It cannot be forgetten that not that long ago Gibraltar voted overwhelmingly to reject any notion of joint sovereignty. What would be just as unacceptable is for a process of joint sovereignty to filter through the tripartite forum.
The aim of the forum, we were told when it was initiated, is to seek areas of cooperation in matters of mutual interest. What is of mutual interest and what is not, that is the question.
If there are no issues of truly mutual interest in sight, the talks should be stalled before they inflict more damage on the policy of those who want such talks to continue, and on those who want the talks to end in the nearest waste paper basket.
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