Spain calls on Britain "to show it intends to undo damage"

Spain is willing to restart a dialogue with Britain, but it is "first necessary for Britain to show it intends to undo the damage that has already been caused."

Izvor: AFP

Tuesday, 20.08.2013.

12:59

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NEW YORK Spain is willing to restart a dialogue with Britain, but it is "first necessary for Britain to show it intends to undo the damage that has already been caused." This concerns "in particular" the removing of the concrete blocks dropped into the sea near Gibraltar, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo wrote in an article in the Wall Street Journal. Spain calls on Britain "to show it intends to undo damage" The minister strongly criticized the creation of the reef last month in disputed waters that were used by Spanish fishermen, AFP reported. Spain is willing to restart a dialogue with Britain and it will accept the creation of ad hoc forums that include Gibraltar and the neighbouring Spanish province Andalusia for issues relating to residents on both sides of the border, Garcia-Margallo said. "But as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy observed earlier this month to his British counterpart David Cameron, it is first necessary for the UK to show that it intends to undo the damage that has already been caused, in particular by removing the concrete blocks." The Gibraltar government says the concrete reef will regenerate marine life and argues that the Spanish raked for shellfish illegally. But the Spanish minister wrote that dropping the concrete blocks was a violation of the most basic rules of environmental conservation, and that local fishermen who relied on the area for a quarter of their activity had been deprived of their livelihoods. Garcia-Margallo also said Spain had no doubt about its sovereignty over the waters, arguing that they were never included in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht under which Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity. Spain stepped up checks at the border with Gibraltar this month saying it was cracking down on smuggling, while Britain accuses Madrid of using the border to retaliate over the reef, AFP reported. The European Commission is to send observers to the border next month at the invitation of both countries. (Beta/AP, file) AFP Tanjug

Spain calls on Britain "to show it intends to undo damage"

The minister strongly criticized the creation of the reef last month in disputed waters that were used by Spanish fishermen, AFP reported.

Spain is willing to restart a dialogue with Britain and it will accept the creation of ad hoc forums that include Gibraltar and the neighbouring Spanish province Andalusia for issues relating to residents on both sides of the border, Garcia-Margallo said.

"But as Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy observed earlier this month to his British counterpart David Cameron, it is first necessary for the UK to show that it intends to undo the damage that has already been caused, in particular by removing the concrete blocks."

The Gibraltar government says the concrete reef will regenerate marine life and argues that the Spanish raked for shellfish illegally. But the Spanish minister wrote that dropping the concrete blocks was a violation of the most basic rules of environmental conservation, and that local fishermen who relied on the area for a quarter of their activity had been deprived of their livelihoods.

Garcia-Margallo also said Spain had no doubt about its sovereignty over the waters, arguing that they were never included in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht under which Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity.

Spain stepped up checks at the border with Gibraltar this month saying it was cracking down on smuggling, while Britain accuses Madrid of using the border to retaliate over the reef, AFP reported.

The European Commission is to send observers to the border next month at the invitation of both countries.

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