The Leader of the Oppositon, Daniel Feetham, has said that the recent statements made by the Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia- Margallo in Argentina that the Spanish Government is ready to engage the United Kingdom in bilateral sovereignty negotiations over Gibraltar “illustrate how disconnected from reality he truly is.”

Mr Feetham continued: “There is no prospect of a Gibraltar Government of any political persuasion agreeing to negotiations on sovereignty with Spain and still less agreeing to bilateral negotiations.

“The sovereignty of Gibraltar is not negotiable and these statements achieve absolutely nothing for anyone. What Mr Garcia-Margallo should do is set aside this issue and progress cooperation at local level for the benefit of the population on both sides of the border. Politics is about people and improving the standard of living and the security of people and their families. Creating jobs and business opportunities will help people in a real way.

“Sabre rattling on sovereignty achieves absolutely nothing particularly for all those unemployed and looking for jobs on the Spanish side of the border. Gibraltar is an opportunity for those people and the sooner Mr Garcia- Margallo understands that, the sooner Gibraltar and Spain could reach agreements on local cooperation for the benefit of everyone.” 

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