What Kind of Europe Are We Leaving Behind?

  • Printer friendly view
 Thursday, January 30, 2020 - 11:30 Leo Olivero

Instead of nationally jabbering on about the cost of living, divorce, abortion, traffic, the frontier queues and so on, shouldn’t we, as the small country that we are, focus our creative energy on identifying what kind of new and modern relationship with Europe or the EU best suits our national interest, and not just leave it to the politicians to decide on everything single thing about our future and what’s going to happen to all of us after Brexit! 

From what can be seen from the ‘Spanish Civil Society’ just over the border, the campo area as far as the Andalusian Government in Seville, they certainly look to be much more mentally and physically active and much more vocal then their Gibraltar Civil Society Counterparts. Even to the point, that they have worked out how much Brexit is going to cost every single person over the fence and immediate region.

When you think, that at the start of Brexit and just after the 2016 referendum, most claimed particularly from North of the border, that Gibraltar would be the real loser and big-time underdog in all this. Three and bit years down the road, the Spaniards have manged to turn all that round to create a money spinning post Brexit ‘nest-egg’ for the millions across the border. Where millions of euros have already been promised from the Madrid central government coffers and from Brussels bank vault!

I personally believe, that if we had to leave the EU, the timing now, could not be better.

I’ve said many times, I have never had any great love for the EU or affection. Fundamentality, this is because the European Union has treated Gibraltar badly, affording us minimum protection against a politically hostile. and at times, aggressive and malicious neighbour. So, am I glad we are leaving the EU, the short answer to that...is a big ‘YES’.

MORE IN PANORAMA PRINT EDITION

30-01-2020 PANORAMAdailyGIBRALTAR