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
6 - Spain Joins NATO (May–June 1982)
- 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
As we have observed, Spain's membership of NATO was seen to be closely linked to the resolution of the Gibraltar question. An article in El País on 23 May 1982 dealing with the defence changes which would follow Spain's entry referred briefly to Gibraltar as the most important issue (but not the only one) requiring clarification before entry could take place.
Alongside it appeared an article specifically about the relationship between Gibraltar and Spain's membership of the Atlantic Alliance. Three possibilites were considered regarding the military control of the Gibraltar base: first, things would stay as they were, which would be intolerable for Spain as well as illogical from an operational point of view; second, the separate command GIBMED would disappear and become part of the Western Mediterranean subcommand under a Spanish admiral based elsewhere (a possibility opposed by Britain); third, there would be joint British- Spanish command of the Gibraltar base, with the command alternating every couple of years. The article further hypothesised that if the bilateral talks over the future of Gibraltar were to fail, there could be considerable difficulties if a Spaniard were in command, especially if there were to be another episode like the Falklands/ Malvinas when the British (or the USA) wanted to use Gibraltar. For this reason, the writer suggested, before Spain becomes part of the military structure of NATO, the position of Gibraltar should be clarified, at least with regard to the role of the Spanish navy on the Rock and responsibility for the costs involved in maintaining or modernising the base.
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- A Stone in Spain's ShoeThe Search for a Solution to the Problem of Gibraltar, pp. 55 - 58Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 1994