Cooperation yes joint sovereignty no

The Chief and Deputy Chief Minister with other ministers

The Chief and Deputy Chief Minister with other ministers Credit: Gibraltar Government

COOPERATION yes joint sovereignty no remains the Gibraltar Government position as it believes that the two do not need to mix.

No sooner had the two most senior Gibraltar politicians returned from a meeting about the border treaty in Madrid than UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced his resignation.

This prompted an observation from Juanma Moreno, President of the Junta de Andalucia confirming his support for a working relationship for the Autonomous Region with Gibraltar which was welcomed by those on the Rock.

The following statement was however made in response to his observations “Her Majesty’s Government of Gibraltar notes the positive statements by the President of the Junta de Andalucia on cooperation.

“The President made the comments in the context of the political changes happening in the United Kingdom. The Government of Gibraltar welcomes positive mutual cooperation with Spain and with the region of Andalucía next door, with no strings attached.

“However, this Government, as a matter of policy, and Gibraltar as a whole will not entertain shared or joint sovereignty in any form.

“It will be recalled that in 2002 that very principle was put to the people of Gibraltar in a referendum and this was decisively and overwhelmingly rejected. That situation has not changed and it will not change and the British sovereignty of Gibraltar will not change or be shared. 

“There is nonetheless still scope, between the obvious differences on sovereignty, to be able to work together on practical issues to improve the lives of citizens on both sides of the border, all the more so following the U.K. and Gibraltar’s departure from the EU.

It should be noted that there is a groundswell of opinion on the Rock that any treaty should be subject to approval by way of a referendum, although should the terms of the proposed treaty be rejected, then Gibraltar would find itself as a real third-party country with all of the potential problems that would entail.

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