One of the reasons why we may indeed gain a no deal Brexit – or not, dependent upon which way around the supplication goes – is the Spanish attitude towards Gibraltar. They’re insistent that it’s a colony, that it shouldn’t be, and that the 30,000 people who don’t want to be part of Spain should be. Indeed, will be.
At which point we need to turn our minds to how to enrage a Spaniard. Simply remind that Gibraltar is exactly a colony in the same way that Ceuta and Melilla are. Little enclaves of one people and political system perched on the edge of another. For entirely historic reasons. And we’ll give up our at about the same time they do their. Or, in the way these things work these days, the people of Gibraltar get to decide their future just as those of Ceuta and Melilla do their.
This having reference to the EU Parliament:
[perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] A British MEP who challenged Spain’s description of Gibraltar as a colony has accused his opponents of “dirty tricks” after he was stripped of a key position in the European parliament. Claude Moraes was forced out of the role of rapporteur for EU no-deal visa-free travel legislation, a position in which his job is to represent MEPs’ views, after he refused to accept the contentious description of the British overseas territory in a draft law. [/perfectpullquote] [perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””] The two largest groups in the European parliament – the centre-right European People’s Party and the Socialists & Democrats – forced through his removal at a hearing on Monday on the grounds of a conflict of interest. Spain, with whom Britain has clashed over the sovereignty of Gibraltar for three centuries, had argued for the description of Gibraltar as a “colony of the British crown” in legislation, with the backing of the other 26 member states. The draft law was first put to a vote by MEPs six weeks ago. [/perfectpullquote] [perfectpullquote align=”full” bordertop=”false” cite=”” link=”” color=”” class=”” size=””]The draft law was held up owing to Moraes’s refusal to give ground on the issue. He said he had no mandate to accept what he said was an erroneous description. Gibraltar voted to remain British sovereign territory in a referendum in 2002.[/perfectpullquote]The long game being played here is that once that description of Gib as a colony makes it into one or another official EU document then it will spread to more and more such. Until it’s just the standard description in the EU and so Spain can then nick it.
The correct response to which is simply to insist upon all such documents reading “Gibraltar, Ceuta and Melilla”. Or, if we wish to enrage the French – and which Englishman doesn’t want to do that – “Gibraltar, Ceuta, Melilla, French Guyana, New Caledonia, St Pierre et Miquelon, Martinique and Guadeloupe.”
Sadly, we can’t get the Germans in the same way as the rest of us nicked all their colonies in 1918. But the Danish might be worth a go, Greenland. The Dutch perhaps with St Maarten and Saba etc. Just insist upon the goose and gander comparison and watch heads explode.
For if we play that card right they’ll throw us out which would solve matters nicely, wouldn’t it?
They signed it over to us, more than once. Wassamatter, Senor, don’t you think a treaty applies after two or three hundred years?
Gibraltar isn’t a colony, it’s a possession or territory. Kenya was a colony, Canada was a colony, New England was a colony, Australian was a colony, even Pitcairn was a colony. Gibraltar, Ascension, Hong Kong are/were not colonies, no, not even India was a colony. A colony is somewhere where populations from the mother country move to to plant themselves in the land and build and expand a settlement building it into a country. Nobody goes to Gibraltar to stake out land and start a farm. Admittedly, the British civil service are to blame for this for calling everything a… Read more »
I´m Spanish and I totally agree with you; The next minute after you give back northern Ireland to their legitimate owners, the Irish Republic, we´ll gift Ceuta and Melilla to Morocco. You are welcome.
I’m aware that the Irish Republic claims dominion over the island of Ireland. But I’d love to see you give us the logic behind why they should have it.
I would note that, like many over here, I have the right to both UK and Eire citizenship. Mine is even derived from a familial background on the Catholic side in NI.
Why is the Republic the legitimate owner of the entire island?
I think they´ve similar position over NI that Morocco over Ceuta and Melilla has: only the geografic proximity. That´s why I wrote down my opinion here. C. & M. has belonged to Spain before even Morocco would exist, as channel Islands have to England(under Norman rule) before existence of modern France. Saying Ceuta and Melilla “belong” to Morocco based in the proximyty is ignorinig the History. This is not the case of Gibraltar. English and Dutch troopers took over Gib, suposingly supporting 1 of the 2 sides in the Spanish civil war of succession, but then, kept control over Gib… Read more »
Well, yes, and NI has been part of the UK ever since there has been a UK and long before there was a Republic of Ireland. Which, using your logic of Ceuta and M would seem to indicate the opposite of what you’re saying. BTW, Channel Islands have never been part of England and aren’t now, nor are they part of the UK and never have been. Rather more like that medieval Spanish thing of different titles held by the same person – say Ferdinand and Isabella, or he after her death – leasding to interlocked sovereignties. Catalunia was ruled… Read more »
No, I am not being contradicting, but you are. what I mean is C. and M. are as thoroughly Spanish as you consider British is NI, despite it is the other side of the Irish Sea. Exactly like C and M are the other side of Gibraltar strait, yet nearby and in front of our respective main body countries. So I want evince that if you consider Ceuta as a part of Morocco because of that you should do the same with NI regarding Ireland and Channel Islands to France. With regard to the Channel Islands, please, let´s be serious;… Read more »
“as thoroughly Spanish as you consider British is NI, despite it is the other side of the Irish Sea.” OK,super then. Just as Gib is ours too. “With regard to the Channel Islands, please, let´s be serious; if they´re not part or UK nor England, which country are they part of?, the Duchy of Normandy?what country is it?” You could always try Wikipedia: “The Channel Islands (Norman: Îles d’la Manche; French: Îles Anglo-Normandes or Îles de la Manche)[note 1] are an archipelago in the English Channel, off the French coast of Normandy. They include two Crown dependencies: the Bailiwick of… Read more »
“as thoroughly Spanish as you consider British is NI, despite it is the other side of the Irish Sea.” It seems you ignored on purpose the 2nd part of my sentence: “…Exactly like C and M are the other side of Gibraltar strait, YET NEARBY AND IN FRONT OF OUR RESPECTIVE MAIN BODY COUNTRIES” Not the other side of the planet, like Gib. Please, when you use a quotation, do it completely. It´s a fact Gib is yours so far, but by force, not by right, and by using your ancestors such a shameful way. So If you want enrage… Read more »
“On the contrary, finding a solution where the indivual citizens rights were taken in particular acount”
OK, which way did Gib vote then?
As I said, obviously the citizenship INTEREST must be taken in acount, not neccesarily their desires because this is a tricky question. Indeed they have some rigths because that is their home currently but they are colonist do not forget. Sovereignty matter concerns only British and Spanish governements, as you can check at Utrecht Treaty. They could be British, Spanish or both of them if they will.
As a clarification, the Channel Islands are as much part of England/UK as much as (ok, very approximately, just an analogy) that Spain is part of Mexico. No, not Mexico is part of Spain, the other way around, Spain (the source of the rulers) part of Mexico (the land the rulers conquered). In would be more accurate to say that England, and its decendant the UK, is part of the Channel Islands, the Channel Islands being the remanants of the Duchy of Normandy. But then we have a country Italy not Savoy, a country called Germany not Prussia, a country… Read more »