Joe Duggan (Reporter)
DEAR readers, the Gibraltar Olive Press is currently held up after our van was stopped at the Spanish border.
Spanish customs officials stopped our delivery van, preventing our driver bringing today’s paper into Gibraltar.
We are currently in negotiations with Spain’s authorities and the Government of Gibraltar to try and resolve the issue.
Hopefully by five or six pm this evening today’s copy of the newspaper will be available for you to read.
Don’t forget, it you can’t wait for your fix you can read it online here https://issuu.com/theolivepress/docs/1-32_23403de1584874
Olive Press editor Jon Clarke said: “It is ridiculous that this should happen at an important time like this.
“We are trying to get this important edition to our readers, but after Brexit and the Gibraltar budget they choose this time to play these stupid games.
“We would like to remind them that until Article 50 is triggered, we are still part of the EU and that these kinds of hold-ups are far from helpful for our readers.”
We will bring you further updates as we get them.
It’s just another sad attempt by Spain to strangle little Gib.
In the end Spain should take a long hard look at itself. Why are the people of Gibraltar so completely against being part of Spain? Is there a serious flaw with the Spanish psyche that it can never admit ANY imperfection in the ‘Spanish way’?
I will help you out my Iberian friends
– British Justice V Spanish ‘Justice’ – Slow justice is no justice Spain…
– Corruption in the UK V Spain – UK levels nowhere close to ingrained Spanish graft.
– Police – Spain 250,000 – Population 46 million – Police State.
Police – UK 150,000 – Population 64 million – See the difference???
In the end it’s just down to freedom and rule of law. These things are anathema to Spain.
Just look at the new policing laws pushed through goverment in Madrid last year.
Gibraltar has no wish to be part of a police state.
Marca Espain.
“We would like to remind them that until Article 50 is triggered, we are still part of the EU and that these kinds of hold-ups are far from helpful for our readers.”
Even when article 50 is invoked, the UK is actually still a member of the EU for two years from that date. Let us hope Rajoy is removed and someone more sympathetic to relations between Spain and Gibraltar arrives.
It was bound to erupt again and as you say if Rajoy and his government and the foreign minister get back in, they’ll really kick off. Such a shame especially as over 10,000 of their own people are directly affected.
Besides this regrettable incident: Gibraltar could be the key for the UK to implement Brexit and still take advantage of the EU inner market. Great Britain should accept the proposal that the Spanish Foreign Minister offered to the UK on June 24. The proposal offered a joint administration of the UK and Spain for Gibraltar, while the Gibraltarians may retain their British nationality and tax system. This solution has many advantages:
– Bad incidents will never again occur at the Spanish border to Gibraltar.
– British expats will be highly welcome in Spain and their property in Spain will be protected.
– The UK may negotiate Brexit according to article 50 of the EU treaty until it has achieved full independance from the EU.
– But via Gibraltar Great Britain is still able to trade with all other EU members under the preferences of the EU market.
– the free movement of persons within the EU applies to Gibraltar only. By keeping the flight movements from and to Gibraltar to a minimum, the UK may reduce uncontrolled migration of EU citizens from Gibraltar to the UK to nearly zero.
– There is no reason for Scotland and Northern Ireland to leave the UK.
– British supporters of Brexit and British supporters of the EU may live together in peace.
– This contract with Spain may be implemented in a very short time frame. Then foreign investors have no more reasons to avoid investments into the UK and the Sterling will not drop.
– If the Spanish government insists, that at the end Gibraltar has to “return” under full sovereignty of Spain, the UK may offer a time span of 100 years of joint British and Spanish sovereignty comparable to the agreement with China over Hongkong. After Spain has waited for this moment for more than 300 years, it will accept the additional 100 years period.
Shame to waste all that breath on something that will never happen. Spain just needs to accept that when you give something away forever you can’t then ask for it back. Simples!
Shame to waste all that breath on something that will never happen. Spain just needs to accept that when you give something away forever you can’t then ask for it back. Simples!