Margallo speaks out on Brexit and joint sovereignty

Concern here and in the UK over the impact of a Brexit on Gibraltar has surprised the acting Spanish Government, which yesterday said that fears Spain might threaten the Rock’s security “sound like something out of the Cold War”.

In a lengthy opinion piece published by the right-wing newspaper ABC, José Manuel García-Margallo, Spain’s acting Foreign Minister, sought to counter “distortions” by highlighting “a few truths” about the Spanish position on Gibraltar, including its longstanding call to resume bilateral sovereignty talks with the UK,

He said the UN had a mandate for the UK and Spain to negotiate Gibraltar’s decolonisation under the principle of territorial integrity “…and not on the basis of a supposed right to self-determination by a hypothetical Gibraltarian ‘people’.”

“The differences between countries must be settled in accordance with international law and not attending to the proclaimed wishes of a people,” he wrote.

And in a radio interview with the left-leaning Cadena Ser yesterday morning, Sr García-Margallo again suggested Gibraltar would have to explore formulas including joint sovereignty in order to retain a link to the European Union in the event of a Brexit.

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