Gibraltar smokescreen as Spanish elections loom

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 Monday, February 25, 2019 - 11:52 Mark Viales

Gibraltar could take centre stage in crunch Brexit talks over the coming months after Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called a snap election.

The Rock is all too familiar with the term ‘smokescreen’ when it comes to Spanish political points-grabbing, and Brexit has thrown her back into the media spotlight. 

The European Union’s ‘colony’ footnote and reference to ‘controversy’ on Gibraltar’s status within EU legislation proposals has emboldened Madrid to intensify its anachronistic territorial claim.

However, Gibraltar, or the UK, clearly still has some friends on the continent as demonstrated by the European Parliament’s rejection of the Rock’s description as a ‘colony’.

The latest Spanish naval warship and air force incursions come days after Sanchez called the country’s third general election in four years, and Brexit will occur one month ahead of the polls on April 28th.

The international incident that hit mainstream media was likely used to gain support from Spanish voters who favour a harder approach towards reclaiming the Rock.

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