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Gibraltar to decide its own future, Britain tells Spain
Wednesday February 22, 2012 11:49:49 AM,
EFE
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London: Britain
will not negotiate with Spain on the question of sovereignty over
Gibraltar without the approval of the colony's residents, Premier
David Cameron said here Tuesday during a visit by Spanish Prime
Minister Mariano Rajoy.The British leader spoke at a joint press
conference with Rajoy after the two men met for the first time
since the Spaniard took office in December.
"We have spoken about Gibraltar and the foreign ministers will
continue talking in the future. We have different positions, but
we will keep talking," Rajoy said.
Cameron, however, was more categorical, stressing that Britain's
position in favour of self-determination for Gibraltarians "has
not changed".
"It's important to understand" that London will not enter into
talks on Gibraltar without consulting the wishes of the Rock's
residents, the British prime minister said, before describing the
current ties between Spain and Britain as excellent.
Gibraltar is a territory of 5.5 sq km on the southern tip of the
Iberian Peninsula at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea. It has
been held by Britain since 1704 and became a British Crown Colony
in 1713 in accord with the Treaty of Utrecht.
The Rock currently has some 30,000 residents, who overwhelmingly
rejected a 2002 proposal for Britain to share sovereignty over the
territory with Spain.
Rajoy's conservative Popular Party government signaled last month
that it would seek to revive talks with London on Gibraltar.
The last round of Gibraltar discussions ended in 2002 as Madrid
and London were on the verge of agreeing to share sovereignty over
the Rock.
The Socialist administration that took office in Madrid in 2004
decided to put the sovereignty dispute to one side in favour of
cooperative efforts to benefit people living on both sides of the
Spain-Gibraltar border.
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