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UK and Spain clash over Gib in London
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by JOE GARCIA
Britain and Spain clashed over Gibraltar at the meeting held in London yesterday between foreign secretary William Hague and his Spanish counterpart Jose Margallo. The Gibraltar government in a statement from No.6 Convent Place, said it was pleased that "it is recognised and accepted by all parties that only Gibraltar has the jurisdictional competence to deal with the issues that arise in respect of the ongoing breaches of the Nature Protection Act in British Gibraltar Territorial waters."
Sr Margallo had gone to London hoping to elevate the level of the talks to that of fully-fledged Anglo-Spanish negotiations on the question of sovereignty. His brief was also to demand a return to the 1999 fishing agreement and to reiterate that Gibraltar has no territorial waters. Mr Hague made it clear that ! sovereignty was not up for discussion. He upheld British sovereignty in respect of Gibraltar's territorial waters.
The incursions into British waters, not just by the fishermen, but by the armed, para-military Guardia Civil was also a sore point. ' On the use by Spain of the frontier for political reasons, creating long delays which affect all persons and vehicles crossing the frontier, was also unacceptable to Britain.
The Gibraltar Government had been advocating dialogue, as evinced by the memorandum of understanding which had the support of the La Linea mayor and fishermen but not of the 'Algeciras fishermen. Mr Picardo lost no time yesterday evening in saying that his Government was "ready to start the deliberations of the Working Group."
He added: It is time to move from provocation to discussion in order to identify lasting solutions in keeping with our law.
The Margallo line was that he sought an agreement that would allow their fishermen to fish in the waters they claim to have always fished in. The Spanish have also been wanting to carry on fishing using the methods of their choice.
What the Spanish want, and what the Nature Protection Act says, are at loggerheads. But Mr Picardo has been indicating that he is prepared to make certain unspecified changes to the law, so it remains to be seen what that will bring.
For the moment it is a question of getting all the fishermen onside, to enter the discussions in the spirit intended. As Mr Picardo put it: "After the statements from both Foreign Ministers, I sincerely hope that anyone who believed they were being urged to pursue confrontation instead of sitting down to discuss issues technically with us, has now seen that it is time to move from provocation to discussion in order to identify lasting solutions in keeping with our law."
After his meeting with Sr Margallo, Mr Hague said: "We reiterated our joint support for a local solution to the current fishing dispute in Gibraltar. Clearly our views on this differ, but we both recognise the importance of establishing a dialogue between all parties. I look forward to working closely with the Minister in the future."
Another issue of maximum importance, which got no mention from either Mr Hague or Sr Margallo, was the frontier and the never ending queues, which affect everyone, including the thousands of Spaniards and other nationals living in Spain and working in Gibraltar.
•FULL TEXT of statement by the Foreign Secretary: "It was a great pleasure to welcome Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo to the United Kingdom today. We maintain a strong bilateral relationship. We spoke about the challenges faced by the Eurozone and the critical need for the EU to agree measures to deal with the economic crisis and encourage growth. We also discussed wider foreign policy issues including co-operation on Syria, Iran and Latin America.
"We reiterated our joint support for a local solution to the current fishing dispute in Gibraltar. Clearly our views on this differ, but we both recognise the importance of establishing a dialogue between all parties. I look forward to working closely with the Minister in the future."
•FULL TEXT of statement by Gibraltar Government: "Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar notes the statement made by the Foreign Secretary,Rt Hon William Hague MP and the statement made by the Spanish Foreign Minister Snr Jose Garcia Margallo after their meeting in London today. The Government is
pleased that it is recognised and accepted by all parties that only Gibraltar has the jurisdictional competence to deal with the issues that . arise in respect of the ongoing breaches of the Nature Protection Act in British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. "The Government continues with the process already established with the fishermen from La Linea and remains open to the fishermen from Algeciras joining the Working Group in order to avoid further dangerous confrontation at sea.
Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said: "The Government is ready to start the deliberations of the Working Group to do the technical and scientific exercise required to progress everyone's understanding of the environmental issues that fishing in breach of the Nature Protection Act can cause. After the statements from both Foreign Ministers, I sincerely hope that anyone who believed they were being urged to pursue confrontation instead of sitting down to discuss issues technically with us, has now seen that it is time to move from provocation to discussion in order to identify lasting solutions in keeping with our law".
30-05-2012
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