TREATY IN DOUBT

THE future of Gibraltar’s relationship with Spain has been thrown into murky waters with any treaty now at the mercy of the Spanish general election.

Spain’s Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said that while he would like to sign an EU treaty with the UK on Gibraltar ‘as soon as possible’, it will probably not happen until after next month’s poll.

And that means that negotiations could take a drastic direction if a new PP government, with extreme right party Vox,holding the balance of power is voted in.

Albares recently said he had put on the table ‘a global agreement that covered all aspects necessary for there to be a zone of shared prosperity between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar’.

But he added he was ‘waiting for the UK to say whether it is in favour of this agreement or not’ and he also confirmed no new rounds of negotiation were planned before the election.

A deal is therefore very unlikely this year, particularly if the PP goes into a coalition with Vox.

While the PP has always made life difficult for Gibraltarians, Vox infamously unfurled a huge Spanish flag across the face of the Rock in 2016. Worse, the party’s general secretary Macarena Olona said Spain and the EU should ‘suffocate’ Gibraltar by immediately closing the frontier.

“We are not here because we choose to have a difficult life, because we choose to be ridiculed, because we choose to suffer hate speech,” Olivera said.

“We are all different but we are all equal if we have that same equal playing field.

“That is what we want.”

The visiting entertainers spoke of the unique atmosphere at Gibraltar Pride.

Connor Fisher told GBC it was ‘not for how much money they could make but about why we are having these parties and why they’re needed’.

And Cheryl Hole added how she loved ‘the sense of community’ and how ‘it’s been incredible to be part of such a special day’.

The LBTQ+ Committee thanked all politicians for their ‘amazing support’ and said plans were already in place for 2024.