The  following  is the full text of the speech delivered  by  the 
Chief  Minister,  The Hon P R Caruana to  the  European  Atlantic 
Group, House of Commons, England on Monday 24th November 1997.

                        - - - - - - - - - -

Mr  Chairman, I am grateful for the privilege of addressing  this 
august forum and for the opportunity to air some of the  problems 
and aspirations of the people of Gibraltar.


OUR HISTORY AS A PEOPLE

     Britain took Gibraltar by conquest in 1704. By the Treaty of 
Utrecht  of 1713, which ended the War of the Spanish  Succession, 
Spain  ceded Gibraltar to Britain absolutely and  in  perpetuity, 
subject  to  a  clause  that if Britain  ever  wish  to  give  up 
sovereignty of Gibraltar she would offer it to Spain first.

     Since  1704  a distinct and proud  people  have  established 
themselves in Gibraltar. A people with their origins in  Britain, 
Spain, Genoa, Sicily, Malta, and from all over the  Mediterranean 
and  India.  These are today's "people of  Gibraltar".  A  unique 
people, rich in cultural origin and diversity. A people that have 
acquired rights in our homeland over 293 years.
	
THE ECONOMY

     Gibraltar  has  a  population of 30,000. It  has  an  active 
working population of around 15,000, including upto 1,000 Spanish 
frontier workers that Gibraltar hosts. Our gross domestic product 
is about 250 million Pounds. The economy comprises principally  a 
tourism sector (we receive about 4 million tourist visits a year, 
and  are enjoying a growing cruising industry), a  port  services 
sector  (comprising  ship  repair, ship  bunkering  and  shipping 
services generally) and a financial services centre. The Ministry 
of  Defence remains a significant contributor to the  economy  at 
about  7% of GDP (down from 65% in 1986!). The Government's  full 
budgetary  requirements  are  met from  local  revenues,  as  are 
capital  investments  (although  we receive some  funds  from  EU 
Structural  and  Social Funds).  We do not receive  budgetary  or 
other aid from the UK.
	
GIBRALTAR'S  CURRENT STATUS AND CONSTITUTIONAL RELATIONSHIP  WITH 
UK
	
     Gibraltar's present status and relationship with the  United 
Kingdom is established in the Gibraltar Constitution, granted  to 
Gibraltar  by  Order in Council in 1969. It  creates  an  elected 
legislature  from  which is drawn the Government of  which  I  am 
currently the Chief Minister. Gibraltar enjoys a large measure of 
self-rule through its elected Government , in practice  extending 
to  all  issues and affairs except Defence, Foreign  Affairs  and 
Internal   Security.  Law  and  Order  is  constitutionally   the 
responsibility  of  the Governor, although in practice  there  is 
substantial consultation since the Gibraltar Government  provides 
all  the  funding  for it.  Gibraltar's  legislature  enacts  all 
statute  law applicable in Gibraltar. The formal relationship  is 
therefore  one  of Dependent Territory, with a large  measure  of 
self government and financially self sufficient.
	

GIBRALTAR'S STATUS IN EU

     Gibraltar  is an integral part of the European Union.  Under 
Article  227(4) of the Treaty of Rome the Treaty applies  to  any 
European  Territory  (Gibraltar)  for whose  external  affairs  a 
member state (UK) is responsible. This often raises the  question 
whether  we  are in the EC as part of the UK or  because  of  our 
constitutional relationship with the UK, although we are  clearly 
not  a separate member state. There are anomalies  which  clearly 
suggest that the UK does not consider Gibraltar to be an integral 
part of the UK for EC purposes. For example, we are not  included 
by   UK   in  her  national  arrangements  for  voting   for   EC 
Parliamentary   elections  and  UK  has  agreed  to   Gibraltar's 
exclusion from a number of EC Directives and measures (usually on 
the  insistence  of Spain). 

     It  would  be  inconceivable that this  could  occur  to  an 
integral  part  of  the  UK.  All  EU  Regulations  have   direct 
application  in Gibraltar. EU Directives extend to Gibraltar  and 
are separately (from the UK) transposed into Gibraltar's laws  by 
legislation  passed in our House of Assembly. Therefore  although 
there   are  only  15  Member  States,  there  are  in  fact   16 
legislatures that have to transpose EU law and Gibraltar  retains 
its   status   as   a  separate  jurisdiction   for   legal   and 
administrative  purposes,  pursuant  to  our  1969  Constitution. 
Notwithstanding  this  separation,  the UK is  the  Member  State 
responsible  for Gibraltar in an EU context since we are  members 
by virtue of UK's membership.

     Not  unlike  other EU territories Gibraltar  enjoys  certain 
derogations  from  the application of certain,  very  limited  EU 
measures. The Coal & Steel Treaty does not apply, since Gibraltar 
produces no coal. The Common Agricultural Policy does not  apply, 
since  we  have  no agriculture. And thirdly,  Gibraltar  is  not 
included  in  the  Customs  Union.  With  these  exceptions   the 
territory of Gibraltar is an integral part of the European Union.

THE SPANISH PROBLEM

     You  will  all be aware that Spain continues  to  claim  the 
sovereignty of Gibraltar and that in pursuance of that claim  she 
maintains  a  very  firm  position in  relation  to  all  matters 
relating to Gibraltar. Spain maintains that Gibraltar is an issue 
only between the UK and Spain, that the people of Gibraltar  have 
no rights in relation to the territory of Gibraltar and that  the 
United  Kingdom should hand sovereignty over to Spain  regardless 
of the wishes of the people of Gibraltar who, according to  Spain 
have  no  say  in  determining our own future  and  that  of  our 
homeland. 

     Unlike  the  Republic  of Ireland in  relation  to  Northern 
Ireland,  Spain  has  not yet recognised that  her  18th  century 
expectations  cannot  be  satisfied without the  consent  of  the 
people  of  the  territory.  Furthermore,  Spain  maintains  that 
because  of her first refusal right under the Treaty of  Utrecht, 
the people of Gibraltar, have no right to self determination.

     Britain  for her part, has solemnly and  repeatedly  assured 
the  people of Gibraltar that there will never be a  transfer  of 
sovereignty   of  Gibraltar  contrary  to  the  wishes   of   the 
Gibraltarians.  The  traditional  British position  is  that  the 
Gibraltarians do indeed enjoy the right to self determination but 
that this is "curtailed" by the Treaty of Utrecht.

     We Gibraltarians do not doubt that like all colonial  people 
(Gibraltar  is  on  the  UN's  list  of  colonies)  we  have   an 
inalienable  right  to self determination. That is the  right  to 
determine  our own future free of external imposition. We do  not 
think that the Treaty of Utrecht, which is now 284 years old  can 
possibly  be  relevant to determine, still less  extinguish,  the 
rights  of a people on the eve of the 21st century. The right  to 
self  determination  of all colonial people is enshrined  in  the 
Charter  and  Covenants of the United Nations.  

     UN   doctrine   and  international   law   establish   quite 
incontrovertibly that where a bilateral treaty conflicts with the 
UN   Charter,  the  latter  supersedes  the   bilateral   treaty. 
Furthermore  all the other provisions of the Treaty  of  Utrecht, 
including  the other provisions relating to Gibraltar, have  long 
since fallen into disregard. Spain herself spent the best part of 
100 years attempting to reconquer Gibraltar by military force  in 
blatant  breach and disregard of the Treaty of Utrecht, by  which 
she had ceded Gibraltar in perpetuity. It is not now open to  her 
to  seek  to rely on that same Treaty to deny the right  of  self 
determination to 30,000 democratic citizens of the EU in 1997! 

     The  people  of Gibraltar do not accept that the  Treaty  of 
Utrecht  is  an  obstacle  to  our  inalienable  right  to   self 
determination. But if, as Spain alleges, the Treaty of Utrecht is 
valid to deny us the right to self determination by virtue of the 
right  of  first refusal provision, then surely it must  also  be 
valid  in  respect of the cession to Britain in  perpetuity.  Yet 
Spain  lays  claim to the sovereignty of Gibraltar in  breach  of 
that perpetual cession. She cannot have her cake and eat it.  She 
cannot  say that the right of first refusal clause in line 36  is 
valid,  but  she claims sovereignty even though she ceded  it  in 
perpetuity in line 35.

     Spain's prosecution of her sovereignty claim over  Gibraltar 
is  not a theoretical exercise. Despite the fact  that  Gibraltar 
and  Spain  are EU territory, Spain takes many  measures  against 
Gibraltar which are, we believe, in flagrant disregard of our  EU 
rights and her EU obligations. She refuses to allow maritime  and 
air  links between Gibraltar and Spain and has refused  to  allow 
Gibraltar  airport  to  benefit from the  Single  Market  in  Air 
Services.  To  this day, because of a deal done by  Britain  with 
Spain  to buy off the Spanish veto on the EU  Air  Liberalisation 
Directive  in  1987  unless  Gibraltar  was  excluded  from   it, 
Gibraltar  airport  remains the only airport in the whole  EU  to 
which Air Liberalisation does not apply. 

     Even  making  due  allowance for Spain's  right  to  operate 
passport  checks (because Gibraltar like UK, is not part  of  the 
Schengen Agreement) and Customs checks (because Gibraltar is  not 
part  of  the  Customs Union) Spain operates  the  frontier  with 
Gibraltar in a most Uneuropean manner. There are no red and green 
channels  at  Customs. Every car is examined. There is  only  one 
single  file passport control for vehicles, manned by a  solitary 
official, regardless of the volume of traffic. This has  resulted 
in severe queues and delays at the frontier. 

     Spain    refuses   to   recognise   Gibraltar's    telephone 
International Direct Dial geographic area code - 350 -. Spain  is 
the  only  country  from  which you  cannot  dial  Gibraltar  via 
satellite.  She  refuses to recognise identity  cards  issued  in 
Gibraltar  and  has, in the recent past, sought to  question  the 
validity of British passports issued in Gibraltar by the Governor 
in the name of Her Majesty the Queen. There are still  occasional 
incidents at Spainish airports of holders of such passports being 
impeded;  Spain constantly seeks the exclusion of Gibraltar  from 
EU  Directives  and refuses to recognise  Gibraltar's  courts  or 
legal system. 

     Spain  systematically seeks to deny Gibraltar membership  of 
International   Sporting   Associations   and   Federations   and 
participation  in international sporting, cultural and  political 
events.

     Spain  subjects Gibraltar to an incessant barrage  of  media 
abuse   and  allegations  of  money  laundering   and   nefarious 
activities  calculated to stifle the development of  our  finance 
centre  and  thus our economy which, she believes, will  make  us 
succumb  to her sovereignty claim. All she actually  succeeds  in 
achieving in uniting Gibraltarians and strengthening our  resolve 
in the face of such external threats to our wishes. But all  this 
is  happening to British subjects, within the EU and between  two 
EU territories.

NATO

     The  Spanish  position  in relation to  Gibraltar  has  also 
raised  its  ugly head in the context of Spain's  application  to 
join NATO's integrated command structure.

     Gibraltar  has been a totally committed participant in  NATO 
from  the  very  outset;  always  ready  and  willingly  offering 
facilities  to  allied  military ships  and  aircraft,  including 
nuclear  armed and powered vessels without fuss. Only  last  week 
the  Royal  Navy  used Gibraltar to prepare  HMS  Invincible  for 
possible urgent deployment to the Gulf and the United States Navy 
has  also made use of Gibraltar in her Gulf build up  last  week. 
Gibraltar  is an effective and dependable asset for NATO. It  has 
therefore been a matter of acute disappointment to  Gibraltarians 
that  NATO  appears  to have  succumbed  to  Spanish  politically 
motivated  pressure  to  scrap COMGIBMED,  the  NATO  command  in 
Gibraltar.  

     It  seems scant reward for and mean recognition of 40  years 
of  service. Gibraltar welcomes the fullest possible  integration 
of  Spain  into NATO. However, some of you may  know  that  Spain 
denies  access to Gibraltar Airport to civilian air traffic  from 
Spain and elsewhere. I have already explained how she has refused 
to  permit  Gibraltar Airport to participate in  Europe's  Single 
Market  in  Air Services, or Open Skies Regime.  Nor  does  Spain 
allow direct maritime links with Gibraltar.
	
     It  would  not be reasonable to expect Gibraltar  to  accept 
Spanish military access to Gibraltar when she refuses such access 
to civilian traffic. Nor indeed, would it be reasonable to expect 
Gibraltarian  public  opinion to accept the presence  of  Spanish 
military  personnel, ships or aircraft in Gibraltar  while  Spain 
persists  with her claim to the sovereignty of the  territory  of 
Gibraltar  displaying  an utter disregard for the wishes  of  the 
people. Do Argentine ships and aircraft visit Port Stanley in the 
Falklands?  Do Greek ships and aircraft visit Turkey,  and  vice-
versa.

     What is required is that Spain should lift her  restrictions 
on   other  NATO  countries  accessing  Gibraltar  and  to   stop 
disrupting  NATO exercises and movements that involve  Gibraltar. 
It is reasonable to demand that of Spain. What is not  reasonable 
is to ask the people of Gibraltar to embrace on our territory the 
consequences  of  Spanish membership as  if  Spain's  sovereignty 
claim  which she pursues with considerable political  aggression, 
did not exist.

	
EUROVOTE

     I  mentioned earlier that Gibraltar did not  participate  in 
European  elections,  even  though we are, as  I  have  said,  an 
integral  part of the EC under the terms of the Treaty  of  Rome. 
This  is because under the European Parliamentary  Elections  Act 
1978  the  UK  made no provision for Gibraltar to  take  part  in 
elections  to  the European Parliament. Accordingly,  the  30,000 
British   Gibraltarians  and  other  EU  Nationals  resident   in 
Gibraltar, are the only EU Nationals who have no right to vote at 
Euro-Elections.  This is in stark contrast to citizens of Spanish 
territories  in  North Africa and some  French  territories  even 
further away who do vote. The people of Gibraltar have long  felt 
aggrieved by this serious democratic deficit. 

     The position is now even more anomalous following  extension 
of the co-decision procedure, which gives the European Parliament 
in  which Gibraltar is not represented a far more extensive  role 
in  the  process of legislation which Gibraltar  is  subsequently 
required to transpose into our own laws and to implement.

     The  British Government have now published the text  of  the 
European Parliamentary Elections Bill which makes new  provisions 
for  elections to the European Parliament in Great Britain to  be 
conducted using a regional list electoral system as opposed to  a 
single  member  constituency  system.  This  new  voting   system 
facilitates the inclusion of Gibraltar, yet again no provision is 
made  for Gibraltar which will therefore  remain  disenfranchised 
under the terms of the Bill.

     The  people  of Gibraltar cannot comprehend  how  a  British 
territory that is part of the EU by virtue of the UK's membership 
is disenfranchised by the UK itself from this most fundamental of 
democratic exercises. 

DECOLONISATION

     And  so,  it  is against this backdrop that  the  people  of 
Gibraltar  seek their decolonisation through the exercise of  our 
right to self determination. The people of Gibraltar do not  want 
or  seek  independence  from Britain. What we seek  is  a  modern 
status in Europe in close relationship with Great Britain. We  do 
not  seek  to break our constitutional links  with  Britain,  but 
rather  to  modernise them. We do not seek  to  displace  British 
sovereignty  of Gibraltar, rather to preserve and strengthen  it. 
Accordingly,  what  we seek is to modernise our  Constitution  so 
that  it  reflects  a  relationship with  Britain  which  is  not 
colonial  in  nature. This would in no way enhance or  alter  our 
status  within  the EU. Gibraltar would remain  British.  Britain 
would  remain  responsible for our foreign affairs  and  defence. 
This   constitutional  modernisation  would  take  the  form   of 
maximising  local  self government, modernising the role  of  the 
Governor,   eliminating   his   colonial   powers,    modernising 
Gibraltar's  internal institutions. There would be no  alienation 
of  sovereignty  by  Britain.  Thus,  although  we  in  Gibraltar 
challenge  that the Treaty of Utrecht remains valid or  curtails, 
still less denies, our right to self determination, the issue is, 
in  a  sense  academic,  because the nature  and  manner  of  the 
decolonisation  that we seek would, in any case,  be  permissible 
under its terms. 

There are precedents for territories, even in Europe, which  have 
close political and constitutional links with the UK, are British 
sovereign,  are  not  part of the UK and  are  NOT  colonies,  eg 
Jersey,  Guernsey, Isle of Man. There is therefore no reason  why 
Gibraltar  should not be decolonised by preserving a  modernised, 
non colonial constitutional relationship with the UK.

     Many  in  Gibraltar  would  support  full  integration  with 
Britain.  Indeed if this were to be available I believe  that  it 
would be the preferred choice of many Gibraltarians. Regrettably, 
to  date,  it has been HMG's position that it is not  willing  to 
integrate Gibraltar into the UK. Indeed integration would resolve 
many  of the practical contradictions between our  Constitutional 
autonomy and our EU status in relation to UK.

DIALOGUE AND RELATIONS WITH SPAIN

     Decolonisation  in the manner proposed, or any  other,  will 
not,  of course, put an end to the Spanish claim  to  sovereignty 
and  to her lamentable conduct and actions in support of it.  But 
that  is  not  a reason for not seeking  decolonisation  nor  for 
Britain not to grant it.  

     But  Gibraltar does not seek to turn its back on Spain.  She 
will always be our neighbour. She is part of the EU with us.  She 
should  be a natural friend and ally. And we want and  seek  that 
friendship.  We  want good european, neighbourly  relations  with 
Spain.  And  if, notwithstanding our decolonisation  through  the 
process that I have described, proposals for a new future  status 
for  Gibraltar  emerge  that  are acceptable  to  the  people  of 
Gibraltar, then so be it. But the overriding applicable principle 
must  be acceptability to the people of Gibraltar. Spain  has  to 
accept  that.  It is the unavoidable consequence  of  her  having 
taken, as I believe she has done, her place at the democratic top 
table of Europe. She cannot preach democracy, and deny it in  its 
most  basic manifestation to the colonised people  of  Gibraltar. 
Spain cannot, with credibility preach democracy to the world  and 
deny its natural consequences to 30,000 British Europeans on  her 
doorstep.  The  people of Gibraltar cannot understand how  it  is 
that  Spain so democratically espouses adherence to  the  highest 
quality  of  democratic principles in the resolution of  all  her 
problems and the furtherance of all her interests - yet she seems 
willing to accept, indeed seeks, the return of a territory in the 
heart  of  Western  Europe  regardless  of  the  wishes  of   its 
inhabitants.
	
     Whatever one may think of the manner of the British  capture 
of  Gibraltar, applying late 20th century values, the  people  of 
Gibraltar cannot be held responsible for that now and be made  to 
pay  for it with their rights and their dignity. The problem  may 
be  18th  century  in  its  making.  That  is  history.  What  is 
extraordinary  is  that Spain should think that an  18th  century 
solution  is  either possible or, indeed, desirable  for  her  in 
1997.  Gibraltar  has  not been Spanish for 293  years.  That  is 
longer  than  the  United States or  Australia  have  existed  as 
countries.  If we turned back the map of Europe or the world  293 
years  to reverse territorial losses during the last  293  years, 
which country would be able to preserve her present borders?

     The Government of Gibraltar is happy, indeed actively seeks, 
to  engage  Spain  in a process of dialogue.  Dialogue  aimed  at 
taking   the   historical  tension  and  mistrust  out   of   the 
relationship, dialogue aimed at securing mutual co-operation  and 
good  neighbourliness and exploring the possibilities for  a  new 
and  better  relationship. However, such dialogue has got  to  be 
safe  and dignified. Safe in the sense that we must be sure  that 
nothing can be agreed without our consent. Dignified in the sense 
that  we  must have our own separate voice and the  right  to  be 
present  throughout  the whole of talks. Gibraltar  will  not  be 
willing to take part in talks which are bilateral between the  UK 
and  Spain and in which the Chief Minister of  Gibraltar  strings 
along as a member of the Foreign Secretary's entourage, or in the 
sort  of role that the mayor of a nearby Spanish town might  play 
in the Spanish delegation. 

     To go along with that sort of dialogue is to acknowledge and 
accommodate the Spanish argument, repugnant to all Gibraltarians, 
that Gibraltar is a bilateral issue between UK and Spain and is a 
territory  in  which  the people of  Gibraltar  have  no  rights. 
Gibraltar  is our homeland. It is not the UK's to give  away  nor 
Spain's  to obtain. It belongs to its people, the  Gibraltarians. 
We  will passionately defend it and our rights in it and  to  it. 
And we expect and are entitled to the full support of HMG.

     Last week the Spanish Foreign Minister, Sr Abel Matutes said 
that   if  Gibraltar  did  not  fall  into  line   with   Spanish 
aspirations,  Spain  would progressively tighten  the  screws  on 
Gibraltar. Such threats against the 30,000 British citizens of  a 
British dependent territory within the EU do not look good on the 
mouth  of a democratic Minister, of a democratic Government of  a 
democratic  member of the EU. Gibraltar will never  surrender  to 
Spanish  bullying  tactics. The UK has a duty  to  do  everything 
necessary  to defend Gibraltar from such Spanish actions  and  to 
promote  and uphold Gibraltar's legitimate rights  and  interests 
within the EU which are constantly under assault from Spain.

     We  want  good relations with Spain, but we do  not  believe 
that  in  the  European Union of the 21st century  we  should  be 
expected to pay with our sovereignty for good relations with  our 
neighbour. It is too high a price for what in a democratic Europe 
should  be free of charge. Gibraltar will not pay that price  and 
nobody that values democratic principles should expect us to  pay 
it,  nor bully us to tender it, nor even be willing to accept  it 
if  we were made to feel obliged to tender it - which will  never 
happen.

ENDS (3508 words)
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