Aug 08 - Government Welcomes Cameron And Hague Calls
- Gibraltar Government has worked closely with UK Government on this action
- Firmness of UK position alongside Gibraltar is unequivocal
- No question of "working groups", which was not even discussed on phone call between Foreign Secretary and Snr Margallo
The Government of Gibraltar welcomes the call made by the Prime Minister, David Cameron, to his Spanish counterpart Mariano Rajoy to complain about the on-going Spanish threats and actions against Gibraltar.
The Prime Minister has previously demonstrated his commitment to Gibraltar and its people, and it was entirely in character for him to want to act personally following the latest escalation by Spain.
That this has been followed up by a call from the Foreign Secretary William Hague to Mr Margallo himself - the second such call in just over 72 hours - demonstrates the seriousness with which the UK and Gibraltar Governments regard the threats that have been made.
The Government welcomes the pressure exerted by the Prime Minister on Mr Rajoy to reduce the deliberate and illegal controls at the Spanish/Gibraltar border which undermine the EU right to freedom of movement through a land frontier of the European Union.
It remains to be seen whether this will produce results, given that there were already delays of up to four hours to enter Gibraltar at lunchtime.
Government similarly welcome the Foreign Secretary's later underscoring to Mr Margallo, in no uncertain terms, that recent events at the Gibraltar frontier with Spain and continuing border delays are disproportionate and unacceptable. In particular, the Government welcomes that Mr Hague has clearly told Mr Margallo that there is no room for negotiation on the Special Areas of Conservation, which is a matter entirely in the Constitutional responsibility of Gibraltar and on the sovereignty of British Gibraltar Territorial Waters.
Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said: "We have been working closely with the United Kingdom on the diplomatic and political actions required to counter the threats made against our people. The Prime Minister has wasted no time in raising these matters with Mr Rajoy and making the British position crystal clear to Spain. The follow-up by the Foreign Secretary with Mr Margallo was similarly uncompromising in telling the Spanish that they should ensure that they lowered the temperature.
The Foreign Secretary was also clear in not allowing Mr Margallo to link Spain's desisting from its threats of illegal action to their complaints about fishing. This is repeatedly being used as a thinly veiled excuse for all manner of abuses by Spain. On this subject Her Majesty's Government of Gibraltar has been consistent and clear throughout that this is a matter entirely in the Constitutional competence of the Government of Gibraltar. Moreover, the timeline shows that the incursions into Gibraltar waters increased at the time of the Spanish designation under the Habitats Directive in 2009, when it had zero to do with fishing and everything to do with sovereignty."
Gibraltar and the UK have repeatedly set out our joint commitment to diplomatic solutions for all matters which affect the lives of people on both sides of the frontier and our mutual strong commitment to the Trilateral Forum for Dialogue as the mechanism for such discussions. There is therefore no question of any "working groups" being set up in relation to any aspect of fishing or the management of the environment in BGTW, matters which are wholly and exclusively for the HM Government of Gibraltar; something which the Foreign Office has confirmed to the Chief Minister was not even mentioned in the telephone call with Snr Margallo, but which the Spanish newspapers are reporting.
