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
10 - The Border is Fully Opened: Negotiations Get Under Way (January–February 1985)
- 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
In anticipation of the full opening of the border scheduled for early February 1985, thirty-six Spanish and Gibraltarian officials met on 10 and 11 January for preparatory talks to discuss practical matters relating to the re-establishment of communications, such as police control, customs, work permits and telecommunications.
The Gibraltar delegation was led by the Deputy Governor, John Broadley, while the Spanish group was headed by Francisco José Mayans, special adviser to the Spanish Foreign Affairs Minister, and both sides included representatives of several ministries concerned. The first day's meetings were held in La Línea, while on the second day they were held in Gibraltar itself, the first time that Spanish officials had come to the Rock since 1969.
Tact was very much in evidence in order to avoid any friction. The participants spoke in their own language and their contribution was then translated into the language of their interlocutors, despite the fact that practically all of the participants could speak both languages. For the first day's talks the Gibraltarians actually replaced one of their translators, a British subject who technically was not yet allowed to cross the border. The atmosphere in the talks was friendly, no doubt due to the fact that they were dealing with practical matters rather than political issues. The outcome was the publication in Madrid on 18 January of detailed regulations about the movement of people, goods and vehicles across the border. This augured well for the full opening of the border and for the Geneva meeting between the two Foreign Ministers to implement the Brussels Declaration, both of which had been set for 5 February.
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- A Stone in Spain's ShoeThe Search for a Solution to the Problem of Gibraltar, pp. 85 - 90Publisher: Liverpool University PressPrint publication year: 1994