The Gibraltese won't accept shared sovereignty without a fight. 96% of them voted to remain in the UK and part of the reason for that is that they're fanatically British. Ironic, isn't it?
Britain’s ability to protect the interests of Gibraltar has been damaged by the EU referendum result, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said today.
In an interview with ITV’s Robert Peston, Mr Hammond repeated a stark warning he first voiced when he visited Gibraltar ahead of the referendum campaign.
“We will be less able to protect Gibraltar’s interests, not to defend Gibraltar’s territory, of course we can do that, but to protect Gibraltar’s interests if we are not in the European Union,” he said.
“Gibraltar depends on thousands and thousands of Spanish workers crossing that border every day and any disruption to that flow will be extremely damaging to the Gibraltar economy.”
Mr Hammond was speaking after Spain’s acting Foreign Secretary, José Manuel García-Margallo, said on Friday that Spain would seek joint sovereignty over the Rock after the Brexit Rock.
That statement was immediately rejected by both the British and Gibraltar governments.
On Friday, UK Europe Minister David Lidington reaffirmed Britain’s double-lock sovereignty commitment to Gibraltar.
“I want to be absolutely clear,” he said in a message to Gibraltar.
“The United Kingdom will continue to stand beside Gibraltar.”
“We will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against your wishes.”
“Furthermore, the UK will not enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.”
Likewise Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, in an address to the Gibraltar Parliament on Friday, said there was no prospect of any joint sovereignty deal.
“This government is confident there will be no talks or even talks about talks against the express wishes of the people of Gibraltar in respect of the sovereignty of Gibraltar,” Mr Picardo said.
“Gibraltar will never be Spanish in whole, in part or at all.”
“Gibraltar will never pay a sovereignty price for access to the single market.”
chronicle.gi/2016/06/gib-interests-harder-to-protect-after-brexit-vote-hammond-says/