May 26 - Gibraltar MEPs Share Their Thoughts On EU Referendum
With less than a month to go until the EU Referendum, the Chief Minister and Deputy Chief Minister have met with nearly all of the local MEPs during their visit to Brussels.
While the Government of Gibraltar is publically backing the local “Stronger In” campaign, the various MEPs who represent South West Region and Gibraltar in the European Parliament have differed in their choice of whether to vote to stay in Europe or to vote out.
Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia have met with Green Party MEP Molly Scott Cato, Labour MEP Clare Moody, Tory MEPs Ashley Fox and Julie Girling and UKIP MEP Julia Reid.
While they were unable to meet with UKIP MEP William Dartmouth, Dr Garcia said they have been able to meet with five out of the six Gibraltar representatives in the European Parliament perhaps for the first time.
While the majority of Gibraltar will be going to the polls on the 23rd June to vote in favour of staying in the European Union, there is a big campaign to vote differently in the United Kingdom.
YGTV caught up with Clare Moody, Julie Girling and Julia Reid to hear their reasons to vote for staying in or leaving the European Union at the EU referendum.
Clare Moody, Labour MEP for South West Region and Gibraltar
Mr Picardo and Ms Moody spoke about a variety of topics including the Schengen issues, freedom of movement and the continuing process around the transport issues.
With regards to the EU referendum, Ms Moody said: “There are various things happening in the committee in Parliament so Fabian has been having meetings with MEPs and I have been talking to colleagues to make sure the right things are done for Gibraltar.
“As for the EU referendum, it is fabulous to see the people’s response in terms of how they will vote on the 23rd June, as you might be aware there’s not quite so much certainty in the rest of the population.
“Gordon Brown was here this morning made a fabulous speech about why the UK should stay in the European Union and why it should lead the European Union in the future.”
Ms Moody said it was under the Labour government that no decisions about Gibraltar would be made without Gibraltar with regards to the Rock’s sovereignty.
She added: “You have a fabulous Chief Minister who I have known for a number of years, and it is inconceivable that decisions would be made without him.”
Julie Girling, Conservative MEP for South West Region and Gibraltar
Mrs Girling and Mr Picardo spoke about aviation and issues with the border, but they primarily spoke about Gibraltar and the UK Referendum.
She adds: “I’m very strongly supporting the remain campaign in the UK, and we spoke about how it would affect Gibraltar, and how I could get the messages across in the UK about how important the referendum is for Gibraltar.”
She said many UK voters who are considering voting to leave the EU are badly informed about the EU and don’t know how it works, and this referendum has been a “crash course” in promoting its function.
Mrs Girling adds: “Most of my constituents support Gibraltar politically as it stands, so they’re quite shocked that the EU Referendum will have a big effect on Gibraltar, and they will be voting for themselves and also for Gibraltar.”
Julia Reid, UKIP MEP for South West Region and Gibraltar
The Chief Minister met with UKIP MEPs Julia Reid, who represents Gibraltar in the European Parliament, and Jonathan Arnott, MEP for Humber and North West. Both MEPs are strong supporters of the UK leaving the EU.
Ms Reid said: “Chief Minister Picardo was very keen to emphasise that although he and Dr Garcia and the majority of the people of Gibraltar are on the side of remaining in the European Union, they strongly support the fact that my party and a lot of people in the UK are of the opinion that it will be better to leave the EU.
“As a colleague of mine has already said, it’s an issue of self-determination, we want to be able to govern ourselves and at the moment we can’t. We think that for the British sovereignty and independence, that we should leave.”
During the meeting, Mr Picardo emphasised that whatever the result, the UKIP MEPs and Gibraltar representatives continue to have good ties.
Mr Arnott said that although they can see why Gibraltar voters would want to vote to stay within the EU, he and his voters would like to get the point across for any voters in Gibraltar who would consider voting out.
Mr Arnott, whose grandmother was from Gibraltar, said: “I think the people in Gibraltar value their sovereignty and their Britishness, but they also want to be good neighbours to the Spanish.”
With regards to benefits for Gibraltar leaving the EU, Ms Reid said if the UK were to leave the EU, then the UK government can be far more robust in dealing with the Spanish government in the event of any incursions.
Both Ms Reid and Mr Arnott will be appearing on GBC to discuss their views and the benefits of the UK leaving the EU.
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