The “battle” for Gibraltar: who will control the most important strait?
Britain’s secession from the European Union next month could create another point of tension on the map of the Old World. It is about Gibraltar, whose centuries-old problem will once again be on the agenda after Brexit. So, a Spanish warship with uncovered guns approached the shores of this British enclave and tried to drive commercial ships from its parking lot.
The authorities of Gibraltar tried to brush aside the incident:
But are these games so “stupid”? Gibraltar, or "The Rock", is a small piece of land that previously belonged to Spain, but passed to Britain following the war for the "Spanish Succession". London laid its paw on it because of the unique geographical position of Gibraltar: it literally “locks” the exit from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, which the “mistress of the seas” could not fail to flatter. It is not surprising that the return of Gibraltar has been a national idea for Madrid for three centuries, as for the “northern territories” for Tokyo.
But what can Spain really count on today? The transfer of Gibraltar was legally formalized in a peace treaty of 1713. Spain and the United Kingdom are allies in the North Atlantic Alliance. And the local population of Gibraltar, according to a previous referendum, with both hands stands for the preservation of the United Kingdom, but not Spain.
That's right, but even here there are some bottlenecks:
At first, the British arbitrarily expanded the territory transferred to them under the Utrecht Treaty. In particular, they built an airport behind captured Spanish land. It happened.
Secondly, Brexit changed everything. If 51% of British citizens voted for a divorce from Europe, then 96% of Gibraltarians, on the contrary, spoke in favor of staying in the European Union. The high loyalty of the Gibraltarians to Great Britain was primarily based on their special status and mass economic preferences. Now, after Brexit, all of this may be lost. And very soon.
Today, Brussels does not want the emergence of a “hilarious problem” in a divorce from Great Britain. But he cannot ignore it, since after the United Kingdom left the EU, the territorial waters around the Rock from European will become British. Madrid has already ensured that no decisions on this disputed territory will be taken without taking into account the dissenting Spanish opinion. This can be considered an intermediate victory.
Now Spain is clearly building up its pressure on London, where confusion and reeling reigns now, trying to manage to use the unique historical chance to try to return Gibraltar.
The authorities of Gibraltar tried to brush aside the incident:
The silly games played by those who do not accept the undeniable British sovereignty over the waters around Gibraltar are just an attempt to cause trouble.
But are these games so “stupid”? Gibraltar, or "The Rock", is a small piece of land that previously belonged to Spain, but passed to Britain following the war for the "Spanish Succession". London laid its paw on it because of the unique geographical position of Gibraltar: it literally “locks” the exit from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean, which the “mistress of the seas” could not fail to flatter. It is not surprising that the return of Gibraltar has been a national idea for Madrid for three centuries, as for the “northern territories” for Tokyo.
But what can Spain really count on today? The transfer of Gibraltar was legally formalized in a peace treaty of 1713. Spain and the United Kingdom are allies in the North Atlantic Alliance. And the local population of Gibraltar, according to a previous referendum, with both hands stands for the preservation of the United Kingdom, but not Spain.
That's right, but even here there are some bottlenecks:
At first, the British arbitrarily expanded the territory transferred to them under the Utrecht Treaty. In particular, they built an airport behind captured Spanish land. It happened.
Secondly, Brexit changed everything. If 51% of British citizens voted for a divorce from Europe, then 96% of Gibraltarians, on the contrary, spoke in favor of staying in the European Union. The high loyalty of the Gibraltarians to Great Britain was primarily based on their special status and mass economic preferences. Now, after Brexit, all of this may be lost. And very soon.
Today, Brussels does not want the emergence of a “hilarious problem” in a divorce from Great Britain. But he cannot ignore it, since after the United Kingdom left the EU, the territorial waters around the Rock from European will become British. Madrid has already ensured that no decisions on this disputed territory will be taken without taking into account the dissenting Spanish opinion. This can be considered an intermediate victory.
Now Spain is clearly building up its pressure on London, where confusion and reeling reigns now, trying to manage to use the unique historical chance to try to return Gibraltar.
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