Eduardo González
The president of the People’s Party (PP), Alberto Núñez Feijóo, has warned that the EU-UK Treaty on Gibraltar, signed this past Tuesday in Brussels and provisionally in effect since Wednesday, “must be completed” because “there is no shared prosperity without tax equality.”
Feijóo was responding to a previous message on social media from the president of the Andalusian Regional Government, Juanma Moreno, in which he wrote that “the removal of the border fence is good news for the Campo de Gibraltar region,” but added that, “to avoid a missed opportunity, it is essential to move towards real and effective tax equality.” “We must eliminate not only the physical barriers, but also the invisible barriers that hinder the region’s development,” he warned. “From Andalusia, we will always advocate for dialogue, consensus, and coexistence,” he concluded.
“I agree with Juanma Moreno that there is no shared prosperity without fiscal parity,” Núñez Feijóo posted. “My commitment is to defend it from the Government, as well as to guarantee the realization of all Spanish interests where national sovereignty is represented: in the Congress of Deputies,” he added.
In statements to Canal Sur Radio, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, asserted that the treaty represents “a new era in which we are changing a model of confrontation for cooperation and giving the Campo de Gibraltar a historic opportunity.” “We are moving from three centuries of a vicious cycle of mistrust and conflict to a new era and a virtuous cycle of trust and joint projects,” added the minister, who insisted that the agreement not only “maintains intact” the claim of sovereignty over the Rock, but also leaves it “protected forever.”
Albares also highlighted the support the treaty has received from the President of the Regional Government of Andalusia: “He has always offered me his support, both publicly and privately.” On the contrary, he denounced, “the People’s Party, as an institution in the Congress of Deputies and in its headquarters on Génova Street, has done everything possible to sabotage this agreement.”
“In the name of what foreign policy, in the name of what European neighborhood policy, is the PP torpedoing the relationship with France and the Administration and Cooperation Treaty? In the name of what good neighborliness policy do they yearn for their confrontational policy with Morocco? In the name of what policy toward Latin America are they going to Mexico to poison relations with a sister nation?” the minister asked.
“I will continue to extend a hand, but so far I have not had the support of the People’s Party on Gibraltar, France, Morocco, Algeria, Mexico, official languages, or the recognition of Palestine,” he continued. “They know best, but if they do this in opposition, imagine what they would do if they were ever in power in Spain,” he warned.
Following the signing of the agreement in Brussels, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez presided over the demolition of the La Línea de la Concepción border fence on Wednesday. “Today we are making history, good history, because today the last wall of continental Europe falls,” Sánchez declared to those present, including the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo; the Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph Garcia; the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares; the British Ambassador to Spain, Alex Ellis; the Mayor of La Línea, Juan Franco; and the other mayors of the Campo de Gibraltar region, among other authorities.