European Parliament visit helps raise Gib awareness in EU

A group of assistants to MEPs in the European Parliament were hosted by the Deputy Chief Minister, Dr Joseph Garcia, at the Gibraltar Airport Wessex Lounge yesterday. The aim of the meeting was to raise Gibraltar’s profile and allow the MEP assistants to see European Union issues concerning the frontier, taxation, financial services and aviation.

The assistants are in Gibraltar on a two day visit and leave later today. They are here at the invitation of the Gibraltar Government having had briefings at No.6, visited Parliament, the frontier, airport, Northern Defences and tourist sites.

The assistants raised their eyebrows in surprise when Deputy Chief, who had just arrived from London, explained the problems suffered by Gibraltar due to “persistent harassment from Spain and their usage of the border as a political tool”.

THE VISIT

“One thing that you learn very quickly when lobbying is that access to decision makers is through their assistants who bring things to their attention,” he told the Chronicle.

“Inviting them to Gibraltar to see the situation for themselves has political value for the Rock in the long-term.”

More in our printed edition.