Jul 01 - UK MPs Claim UK Government Has 'Shown Weakness' Against Spain
Coinciding with the visit of UK Europe Minister to Gibraltar, David Lidington, the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee has this week insisted that the British Government has ‘shown weakness in response to a concerted Spanish campaign directed at Gibraltar.’
The Telegraph reports that the Committee, who hosted a meeting with Chief Minister Fabian Picardo in Gibraltar, earlier this year, has recommended that the Foreign Office drop a conciliatory approach and ‘instead sue the Spanish government in the European courts to stop disruption at the border between the Overseas Territory and its only neighbor.’
A report developed by the Committee insists that tensions have been escalated deliberately by Spain, since the PP came into Government in 2011. They are also calling for a response against incursions into BGTW, to be carried out by naval and police forces in Gibraltar as well as the removal of NATO restrictions ‘on direct movements between Gibraltar and Spanish ports, and the withdrawal of non-essential co-operation with Spain at the UN.’
MPs belonging to the committee have brushed off the Foreign Office’s policy of attempting to de-escalate tensions diplomatically and by proposing ad-hoc talks with Spain and Gibraltar.
