Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgement
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Gibraltar Incommunicado (1963–1979)
- 3 The Lisbon Agreement (July 1979–April 1980)
- 4 Spain's Approaches to NATO (June 1980–March 1982)
- 5 ‘Different and Distant’? The Falklands/Malvinas dispute (April–May 1982)
- 6 Spain Joins NATO (May–June 1982)
- 7 The Border Remains Closed (June–October 1982)
- 8 Felipe Opens the Gates (October–December 1982)
- 9 Towards the Brussels Declaration (March 1983–November 1984)
- 10 The Border is Fully Opened: Negotiations Get Under Way (January–February 1985)
- 11 Osmosis Begins (February–November 1985)
- 12 Sovereignty and Sovereigns (December 1985–April 1986)
- 13 Into Felipe's Second Term: Guards and Gates (June 1986–January 1987)
- 14 The Battle over the Airport (January–December 1987)
- 15 Gibraltarians Vote to Resist (December 1987–March 1988)
- 16 First Visits by First Ladies (April–October 1988)
- 17 The Bossano Strategy (January–February 1989)
- 18 Spain's Role in Death on the Rock (March–April 1989)
- 19 A European Hong Kong? (May–December 1989)
- 20 Tackling Money-laundering and Smuggling (February–December 1990)
- 21 Felipe Visits London (January–May 1991)
- 22 Four More Years for Joe Bossano (May 1991–January 1992)
- 23 The External Frontier Issue Remains Unresolved (February–November 1992)
- 24 Conclusion
- Appendix 1 The Treaty of Utrecht: Extract from Article X
- Appendix 2 The Lisbon Agreement
- Appendix 3 The Brussels Declaration
- Appendix 4 The Government of Gibraltar
- Bibliography
- Index
3 - The Lisbon Agreement (July 1979–April 1980)
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgement
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Gibraltar Incommunicado (1963–1979)
- 3 The Lisbon Agreement (July 1979–April 1980)
- 4 Spain's Approaches to NATO (June 1980–March 1982)
- 5 ‘Different and Distant’? The Falklands/Malvinas dispute (April–May 1982)
- 6 Spain Joins NATO (May–June 1982)
- 7 The Border Remains Closed (June–October 1982)
- 8 Felipe Opens the Gates (October–December 1982)
- 9 Towards the Brussels Declaration (March 1983–November 1984)
- 10 The Border is Fully Opened: Negotiations Get Under Way (January–February 1985)
- 11 Osmosis Begins (February–November 1985)
- 12 Sovereignty and Sovereigns (December 1985–April 1986)
- 13 Into Felipe's Second Term: Guards and Gates (June 1986–January 1987)
- 14 The Battle over the Airport (January–December 1987)
- 15 Gibraltarians Vote to Resist (December 1987–March 1988)
- 16 First Visits by First Ladies (April–October 1988)
- 17 The Bossano Strategy (January–February 1989)
- 18 Spain's Role in Death on the Rock (March–April 1989)
- 19 A European Hong Kong? (May–December 1989)
- 20 Tackling Money-laundering and Smuggling (February–December 1990)
- 21 Felipe Visits London (January–May 1991)
- 22 Four More Years for Joe Bossano (May 1991–January 1992)
- 23 The External Frontier Issue Remains Unresolved (February–November 1992)
- 24 Conclusion
- Appendix 1 The Treaty of Utrecht: Extract from Article X
- Appendix 2 The Lisbon Agreement
- Appendix 3 The Brussels Declaration
- Appendix 4 The Government of Gibraltar
- Bibliography
- Index
Summary
Sir Ian Gilmour, Minister of State at the Foreign Office, visited Gibraltar on 17 and 18 July 1979 in order to convey the new Conservative Government's views directly to the Gibraltarians. He said that the Government considered the Spanish restrictions to be unjustifiable, that it was inconceivable that the frontier should remain closed in an enlarged European Community, and described the restrictions as an act of hostility.
Thus far the British Government had maintained that Britain would fully support Spain's application for membership of the European Community, and that the Gibraltar dispute was irrelevant to Britain's attitude. But when a member of the British Government linked the two as Sir Ian did, suspicions arose in the minds of Spaniards as to whether there might not be some connection being made between the two issues, especially as the EC negotiations frequently ran into opposition from Britain on the question of fishing.
Nevertheless, Spain's negotiations to join the EC continued, while those on Gibraltar did not. Lord Carrington, the Foreign Secretary, met his Spanish counterpart Sr Oreja in New York on 24 September during the General Assembly of the UN, but nothing of substance emerged.
Pressure on the Spanish Government to shift the logjam on negotiations came from a new quarter in October 1979. A 24-hour general strike was called in La Línea for 9 October to protest against the Government's failure to compensate the Campo region for the economic hardship it had suffered over the past ten years through the closure of the frontier. Unemployment in La Linea currently affected some 4,000 workers, representing between 20% and 25% of the active workforce.
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- A Stone in Spain's ShoeThe Search for a Solution to the Problem of Gibraltar, pp. 20 - 26Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 1994