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Gibraltar's Chief Minister Rejects Joint Sovereignty With Spain Spain News

Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar’s Chief Minister rejected any talk of joint sovereignty on Monday, when he declared that the idea was “as dead as a Dodo”.

He made the statement as a part of his New Year’s message to the people of Gibraltar and went on to say, "If anyone in Spain, in any part of the political spectrum, believes that we will ever compromise on our sovereignty they are wrong. The concept of joint sovereignty or any dilution of our sovereignty is a dead duck,".

"It's as dead as a dodo. If anyone seriously thinks they can advance the concept of joint sovereignty, they are flogging a dead horse. They should not waste breath talking such nonsense. They should not waste ink writing such nonsense. Neither through threats nor inducements will we ever waiver. Brexit changes nothing in this respect."

Spanish political parties have used Britain’s imminent departure from the EU as an opportunity to call on Madrid to make a claim to the outcrop, which was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Spain has continued to dispute the sovereignty of Gibraltar in recent years, particularly under the regime of Francisco Franco.

A proposal to share sovereignty of the island with Spain was made by the UK government in 2001 with a subsequent referendum being called by the government of Gibraltar in November 2002.

The result of the referendum was an overwhelming rejection of the proposal by a landslide majority, with only just over one percent of the electorate voting in favour of joint sovereignty.

Image: InfoGibraltar [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons