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Negotiation on Gibraltar: Cannot brook delay

Ambassador Luis Tejada
THIS summer, Bangladeshi readers have been able to follow in the international press and in some local newspapers different news about an acute disagreement between two EH countries, United Kingdom and Spain. The British gov-
Spain and the United Kingdom set the foundations of a new negotiating process directed at solving all the differences, including the issues of sovereignty. From the end of the negotiations on co-sovereignty in 2001-2002, the United Kingdom has refused to continue participating in the Brussels Process.
In 2004, a Forum of Dialogue on Gibraltar was launched as an initiative aimed at favouring technical cooperation to the benefit of the inhabitants of both sides of the border. It was blocked due to the insistence by Gibraltar on its pretended sovereignty, something that absolutely
ernment has even announced legal actions against Spain on the accounts of the strict controls that our government has been exercising at the border of a territory, Gibraltar.
Gibraltar is a peninsula in the most southern tip of Spain, very small, but with historical, commercial and military importance. Its position is strategic from the military point of view, as it allows the control of the access by sea to the Mediterranean from the Atlantic Ocean. It is formed by a natural fortress—the Rock—with a surface area of just 4.8 sq.km linked to the rest of the Iberian Peninsula by an isthmus approximately 1.6 km long.
The dispute over Gibraltar is a vestige of dynastic conflicts of the Ancien Regime. The fortified town was occupied on August 4, 1704, during the War of Spanish Succession. Queen Anne of Great Britain obtained the cession of Gibraltar from the Spanish Crown under the Treaty of Utrecht of July 13, 1713. Linder this treaty, only the town and castle of Gibraltar were ceded, together with the port, fortifications and forts thereunto belonging. Spain did not yield the isthmus, the territorial waters or the air space above. Although the isthmus was not ceded by Spain, more than half of it was illegally seized by the British during the 19th Century.
In 1946, the United Kingdom, pursuant to the United Nations Charter, registered Gibraltar as a "non-self-governing territory." As from 1963, Gibraltar has been included in the list of territories subject to decolonisation under the Committee of 24.
The UN's call to solve the dispute by bilateral negotiations gave way to the Declarations of Lisbon (1980) and Brussels (1984), in which
lacks any legal basis whatsoever.
From the beginning of its tenure, the present Spanish government has requested the United Kingdom to re-commence the bilateral negotiations on sovereignty, which has been interrupted for far too many years.
But the issues with United Kingdom do not refer only to sovereignty. The inhabitants of Gibraltar have traditionally profited from their particular status to indulge in several forms of illegal activities. Only this summer, the authorities
of the Rock have decided to drop 70 concrete blocks into the Bay of Gibraltar. This is just an attempt to underline their pretended sovereignty. But the dumping of concrete blocks also constitutes a violation of the most basic rules of environmental conservation. Furthermore, these waters account for 25% of the activity of local fishermen, who have been fishing there for many years.
Another example of the lack of respect for the basic environmental rules by the inhabitants of Gibraltar is the bunkering or refuelling of ships at sea, a practice that risks releasing toxic discharges into the sea.
On the other hand, smuggling has been a traditional activity of many Gibraltar inhabitants, profiting from the fact that it is not part of the EU customs territory, and that its taxes, as VAT and excise duties, are not applied there. For example, seizures of illegal cigarettes from the colony increased by 213% between 2010 and 2012. This is why it is absolutely mandatory for our government, under the EU legislation, and specially the Schengen Borders Code, to control the traffic passing through the gate between Gibraltar and Spain.
Gibraltar operates as a tax-haven, especially regarding corporate tax. For a population of 30,000 people, Gibraltar has 21,770 registered companies, of which only 10% pay taxes. "Shell" companies located in Gibraltar conceal the true ownership of over 3,000 properties in Spain. There are 6,700 Gibraltarians whose actual, but not fiscal, homes are in Spain, and who benefit from our social services and infrastructure without contributing to them by paying taxes. Spain has complained on numerous occasions to the EU, the G-20 and G-8 about the tax-haven condition of Gibraltar. We are also implementing measures at national level to address tax fraud.
These are not the only examples of violations of international laws and obligations by Gibraltar, but give a good idea of the type of difficulties that arise from the present status and the attitude of its authorities. Obviously, they do not show much interest in altering a position so advantageous for their income, even if a good deal of it is obtained by illicit means. This is why the negotiation between Spain and the United Kingdom should not be further delayed.
The writer is Ambassador of Spain to Bangladesh.