Ana Palacio Talks In Tautologies Over Gibraltar

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

23 July 2002

Having already admitted to possessing a relatively limited knowledge of the intricacies of the Gibraltar situation, the new Spanish Foreign Minister, Ana Palacio would have done well to read up on the issue and keep her head down until talks with the UK resume officially after the summer.

However, the current dispute with Morocco over the tiny islet of Perejil has prompted several British and Spanish media sources to draw comparisons, eliciting such pearls of wisdom from Ms Palacio as 'nothing is agreed until it is agreed', and 'shared sovereignty means shared sovereignty'.

The Panorama news service reported at the weekend that, speaking on Spanish television with regard to the Perejil dispute, the new Foreign Minister briefly referred to Gibraltar, observing that it is a complex situation, and that 'nothing is agreed until it is agreed'. Well, that's that one cleared up then...

And speaking to the BBC's Today programme at the weekend, Ms Palacio denied that Spain was guilty of double standards over its claim to Gibraltar and Morocco's claim to Ceuta and Melilla, arguing that:' The history of Ceuta and Melilla is the same as that of Malaga, Alicante etc.'

Questioned by the BBC as to her reading of the construct of shared sovereignty, she replied that: 'Shared sovereignty means shared sovereignty,' and when asked whether the Spanish government considered power sharing as a stepping stone to eventual full sovereignty over Gibraltar, she responded:

'First of all, nothing is closed until everything is closed, which is a very clear attitude to any negotiation. So, we have to solve all the problems. I think that what has been done is a sound base in order to go further.'

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