Gibraltar row: UK considering 'unprecedented' legal action

[Z]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-23668589

The UK government is considering legal action against Spain over the imposition of additional border checks in Gibraltar, Downing Street has said.

A spokesman said the prime minister was "very disappointed" by Spain's failure to remove the checks over the weekend.

Legal action through the EU would be "unprecedented", the spokesman added.

It comes as the Spanish government says it is considering taking the dispute to the UN Security Council, where it could seek the support of Argentina.

A spokesman told the BBC that although the Falkland Islands - over which Britain went to war with Argentina - and Gibraltar were different issues, there were similarities between the two disputes.

Meanwhile, a Royal Navy taskforce has started to leave UK ports on a routine deployment, which will include a stop at Gibraltar.

While the trip has been described by the Ministry of Defence as "long-planned", it follows a diplomatic dispute between the UK and Spain.

The row was sparked after Gibraltar created an artificial reef which, the Spanish say, will destroy fishing in the area.

Madrid stepped up border controls, which caused lengthy traffic queues, and suggested a 50 Euro fee could be applied to every vehicle entering or leaving the British territory.

A Downing Street spokesman called Spain's actions "disproportionate and politically motivated".

Speaking about potential legal action, he said: "If we go down this route, we would press upon the EU the need to pursue this with a matter of urgency."

It is not clear what the legal options are, the spokesman added, saying it would be up to the EU to explain what any possible sanctions would be.

[arista]

Yes take legal action
the Spanish are taking the piss.

[Z]

Obviously Britain likes to hang on to these ports so it has a mucky finger in the Mediterranean pie but I think it's a bit ridiculous we're still hanging on to all these little outposts around the world.

[Livia]

Obviously Britain likes to hang on to these ports so it has a mucky finger in the Mediterranean pie but I think it's a bit ridiculous we're still hanging on to all these little outposts around the world.

I don't think it's ridiculous when the inhabitants of these places wish to remain British. Gibraltarians do wish to remain British. End of story for me.

[Nedusa]

It's the Falklands mark two...........

[Z]

I don't think it's ridiculous when the inhabitants of these places wish to remain British. Gibraltarians do wish to remain British. End of story for me.

No I mean that's fair enough, but the actual concept of Britain claiming all these tiny territories is so ludicrous to me. In reality it's just a tiny strip of land with no other value other than the fact it is located in the Mediterranean.

[Livia]

No I mean that's fair enough, but the actual concept of Britain claiming all these tiny territories is so ludicrous to me. In reality it's just a tiny strip of land with no other value other than the fact it is located in the Mediterranean.

The only value is to those who live there... or that should be the reason for keeping these territories. Gibralter is part of the Commonwealth, and regardless of where it is - and it's right at the mouth of the Med - the only criteria that leads me to believe it should remain British is the wishes of the Gibraltarians. Much like the Falkland Islanders. I don't see us offering the Channel Islands to France, or the USA offering Hawaii to Mexico, even though the islands are geographically closer to Mexico than they are to the USA.

We should let the people who live there decide their own fate.

[Kizzy]

Colonial attitudes are to change....

''Almost half a century after the United Nations called for independence for all colonies, the organization lists 16 places—with 1.2 million people—that are still ruled by foreign powers. The UN wants these "non-self-governing territories" to achieve home rule by 2010, the 50-year anniversary of the General Assembly's call for independence and the end of its second International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. But progress has ground to a near halt.''

''In three cases, decolonization efforts have also run up against conflicting sovereignty claims: Morocco waged a war over Western Sahara with Sahrawi guerrillas of the Polisario Front, the U.K. and Argentina fought over the Falkland Islands, and the U.K. and Spain continue to dispute the ownership of Gibraltar.

Most of the world's remaining 16 colonies are islands, and many are tiny. No matter, says Corbin. "Size should not be a factor in determining whether a territory can exercise its right to self-determination."

''Gibraltar
Colonial Power: United Kingdom
Colonized: Formally declared a colony in 1830; Spain had ceded the strategically important territory to Great Britain as part of the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.
Area: 6.5 square kilometers—the smallest of all the territories on the UN's decolonization list
Population: 28,002, mainly Spanish, Italian, English, Maltese, and Portuguese
Languages: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese
Status: Gibraltarians overwhelmingly voted to remain a British colony in 1967; in 1969 the United Kingdom granted them autonomy; in a 2002 referendum held because of Spanish claims over the territory, a large majority of citizens rejected proposals for Great Britain and Spain to share sovereignty; four years later, Gibraltar, the United Kingdom, and Spain signed an agreement that maintained British sovereignty over the territory but allowed freer movement and communication between Gibraltar and Spain.''

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/geopedia/Last_Colonies

[Z]

The only value is to those who live there... or that should be the reason for keeping these territories. Gibralter is part of the Commonwealth, and regardless of where it is - and it's right at the mouth of the Med - the only criteria that leads me to believe it should remain British is the wishes of the Gibraltarians. Much like the Falkland Islanders. I don't see us offering the Channel Islands to France, or the USA offering Hawaii to Mexico, even though the islands are geographically closer to Mexico than they are to the USA.

We should let the people who live there decide their own fate.

Spain has a right to first refusal though, or at least that was my understanding. So by default Gibraltar has to remain part of the UK to maintain its current level of autonomy or it has to come under joint administration between the UK and Spain if it wants things to change.

[Kizzy]

http://www.gbc.gi/upload/pdf/Treaty%20of%20Utrecht.pdf

[LikeABoatOnWater]

If the Gibraltarians wanted independence then the UK would happily give it to them.
The UK isn't holding on to them. Its them holding on to us.

[Livia]

If the Gibraltarians wanted independence then the UK would happily give it to them.
The UK isn't holding on to them. Its them holding on to us.

Succinctly put, LABOW. Nice post.

[Kizzy]

Back in the 1700's did anyone ask the inhabitants of Gibraltar what they wanted?

[Sticks]

I don't think it's ridiculous when the inhabitants of these places wish to remain British. Gibraltarians do wish to remain British. End of story for me.


Why should a bunch of illegal squatters dictate what is right. Gibraltar and La Malvenas should be returned to the rightful owners and the squatters evicted without one penny piece of compensation.

How much tax payers money is being squandered defending these illegal squats?

[Livia]

Why should a bunch of illegal squatters dictate what is right. Gibraltar and La Malvenas should be returned to the rightful owners and the squatters evicted without one penny piece of compensation.

How much tax payers money is being squandered defending these illegal squats?

How about asking the USA to send their squatters back home and give the country back to the Native Americans? Ridiculous, right? The people who live in the places you mention have been there for generations and they should be the only ones to decide their own future. Incidentally, I find you referring to the Falkland Islands as the Malvenas an insult to the people who died defending it.

[Nedusa]

Why should a bunch of illegal squatters dictate what is right. Gibraltar and La Malvenas should be returned to the rightful owners and the squatters evicted without one penny piece of compensation.

How much tax payers money is being squandered defending these illegal squats?

This is not a serious post right....???? You are surely playing the devils advocate on this to ensure many angry replies, for which you in turn can repeat your somewhat ignorant viewpoint.

Many British servicemen died to protect the liberties and freedoms of British citizens in the Falklands and to read posts like yours talking about illegal squatters is rude and offensive and shows a complete lack of any type of informed argument.

[Sticks]

What about those in the Belgrano, which was well outside the total exclusion zone and sailing away from it. Whose sinking torpedoed the Peruvian peace plan

3JZlP5qQVtE

[arista]

If the Gibraltarians wanted independence then the UK would happily give it to them.
The UK isn't holding on to them. Its them holding on to us.


Bang On Right

[Nemo123]

All the Gibraltarians should be sent back to England with a free sunbed by way of compensation.