GIBRALTAR: Spain and Britain yesterday made a historic deal to resolve a 300-year-old dispute over Gibraltar, but side-stepped the main issue - Spain's claims to the Rock's sovereignty.
Gibraltar itself, a colony of 30,000 people at Spain's southern tip, was also represented as an equal partner by its chief minister Peter Caruana at a ceremony in Cordoba, Spain, attended by British European affairs minister Geoff Hoon and Spanish foreign minister Miguel Angel Moratinos. One key aspect of the five-point accord, reached after 18 months of three-way talks, opens up Gibraltar to airline flights from Spain and the rest of Europe.
Spain has until now denied use of its airspace, forcing Gibraltar-bound planes to leave from Britain and perform dangerous approaches heading into the Rock. This change will open up an important new access route to resort beaches on Spain's Costa del Sol. The leisure industry is expected to take early advantage of easier access to the airport, with flights linking up directly with cruise liners in the port of Gibraltar.
Spain will maintain restrictions for military flights, however.Other measures include increasing the number of phone lines into the colony and resolving a long-running dispute over pension payments to Spaniards who once worked in Gibraltar. Spain also promised to soften sometimes overzealous border controls, which have often resulted in frustrating hours-long queues at the border.
"This is a truly historic agreement", Mr Hoon said. "It shows that we can work together to make a difference in the lives of normal working people on either side of the Gibraltar border."
The deal is historic because it marks the first time all three parties, Spain, Britain and Gibraltar, have reached an agreement on the Rock, which Britain has long used as a military outpost.