Aug 20 - Margallo Critical of Gibraltar in Wall Street Journal
Writing in today’s Wall Street Journal, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia Margallo claimed that the UN has clearly established that Gibraltar’s colonial situation needs to come to end, through negotiations between the UK and Spain. He adds that since the beginning of the current legislation, the Spanish Government has urged the UK to resume bilateral negotiations on the issue of Gibraltar’s sovereignty.
Margallo explains that the Gibraltar Government’s creation of an artificial reef is a breach of their obligations to Spain. He insists that Spain has no doubt about the sovereignty of these waters.
The article continues, ‘the dumping of concrete blocks also constitutes a violation of the most basic rules of environmental conservation. These waters account for 25% of the activity of local fishermen, who had been carrying out their normal activities and whose families are now deprived of their livelihoods. The Spanish government has also initiated proceedings to denounce another environmentally harmful practice: that of bunkering, or refueling ships at sea, in the waters off Gibraltar. This practice risks releasing toxic discharges into the sea.
Another important violation concerns diverse types of smuggling that take place from the territory of Gibraltar. The fact that Gibraltar is not considered part of the EU customs territory, and that it does not apply the EU system of VAT and excise duties, has given rise to an enormous increase in smuggling, including of tobacco. Seizures of illegal cigarettes from the colony increased by 213% between 2010 and 2012.’
Sr. Margallo then goes on to be critical of Gibraltar’s tax regime and it’s ‘illegal and incompatible’ state aid, granted to offshore companies via the regime.
A spokesperson for the Gibraltar Government this afternoon stated that they are preparing a response to Margallo’s opinion piece. They also add that Sr. Margallo failed to rebut an earlier, excellent expose by the Wall Street Journal on the unsubstantiated Spanish position regarding Gibraltar.
