The Gibraltar crisis and the measures, options and strategies open to Spain
| Autor | Alejandro del Valle Gálvez |
| Cargo | Professor of Public International Law, Jean Monnet Chair of EU Law, University of Cádiz. Trabajo publicado como Análisis del Real Instituto Elcano, ARI 32/2013 (Translated from Spanish), 30.09.2013 (http://www.realinstitutoelcano.org/) y realizado en el marco del Proyecto de Investigación de I+D 'Cuestiones territoriales y Cooperación... |
| Páginas | 135-147 |
135
Cuadernos de Gibraltar – Gibraltar Reports
Número 1/Issue # 1, enero-diciembre/January-December 2015, pp. 135-147
THE GIBRALTAR CRISIS AND THE MEASURES,
OPTIONS AND STRATEGIES OPEN TO SPAIN
ALEJANDRO DEL VALLE GÁLVEZ1
I. THE CURRENT NEGOTIATING DEADLOCK AND CRISIS – II. SPAIN’S STRATEGIC
OPTIONS – III. THE MEASURES PROPOSED BY SPAIN IN AUGUST 2013 – IV. DOES
SPAIN REALLY WANT TO REGAIN GIBRALTAR? – V. CONCLUSION.
The diplomatic crisis that broke out in July and August of 2013 between Spain and the UK
due to the dispute of fi shing rights and environmental protection in the waters surrounding
the Rock has prompted the announcement by the Spanish government of a parcel of
measures to be taken against Gibraltar. The escalation with the UK has led to protests over
more stringent controls at the frontier and to the fi rmly expressed British support for the
Gibraltarian authorities, coinciding with the arrival of several Royal Navy ships en route to an
exercise in the Mediterranean.
This paper looks at a number of issues concerning the validity of some of the Spanish
government’s measures and with Spain’s current strategy in relation to this historical
controversy. It fi rst analyses the context in which the measures are to be adopted in order to
subsequently consider them in light of the strategic options open to Spain in its dispute over
Gibraltar.
I. THE CURRENT NEGOTIATING DEADLOCK AND CRISIS
The point of departure is the historically very worrying deadlock on Gibraltar, since there
are at present no valid means of dialogue on the controversy between the UK and Spain, or for
including Gibraltar in cross-border cooperation talks. With the change in both governments
in 2010-11, the institutional channels were formally blocked in 2012: the Trilateral Dialogue
Forum was deactivated when Spain demanded its conversion into a four-sided entity and the
UK rejected changing what was agreed bilaterally in October 2004.2 Additionally, in 2012
1 Professor of Public International Law, Jean Monnet Chair of EU Law, University of Cádiz. Trabajo publicado
como Análisis del Real Instituto Elcano, ARI 32/2013 (Translated from Spanish), 30.09.2013 (http://www.
realinstitutoelcano.org/) y realizado en el marco del Proyecto de Investigación de I+D “Cuestiones territoriales y
Cooperación transfronteriza en el Área del Estrecho”, DER2012-34577 (subprograma JURI) del Plan Nacional de
I+D+i 2013-2015, fi nanciado por el Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad y los fondos FEDER de la UE (IP:
Dr. A. del Valle Gálvez).
2 See the analysis by Alejandro del Valle Gálvez (2012), “Gibraltar, de foro tripartito a cuatripartito: entre la
CUARENOS DE GIBRALTAR – GIBRALTAR REPORTS
Num 1,Número/Issue # 1, enero-diciembre/January-December 2015
ISSN 2341-0868
DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.25267/Cuad_Gibraltar.2015.i1.08
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