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OLIVE PRESS
The FREE
Vol. 5 Issue 145
VIP visit
UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab (pictured with Chief Minister Fabian Picardo) visited Gibraltar as a show of support for the Schengen treaty to be worked out with the EU later this year. At a historic Joint Ministerial Council held at No.6 Convent Place, ministers and officials settled the terms by which Gibraltar would remove its land frontier with Spain. Fabian Picardo, welcomed Raab and gave him a personal tour of Gibraltar’s streets and nature park on March 29. Both of them welcomed the Spanish approach which had made this treaty possible. The visit by Raab is being seen as one of the biggest indications since Brexit of the UK’s commitment to Gibraltar’s self-determination. “The UK will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their freely and democratically expressed wishes,” assured a government spokesperson. “Nor will it enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.” The Foreign Secretary was looking to reassure Gibraltarians that the UK’will play its part in giving the Rock the best future, despite how difficult the Brexit pill has been to swallow. “Our position reflects the unique situation of Gibraltar and the opportunity that this negotiation brings,” said Raab.
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Green light Gib getting ready for return of UK tourists as it ranks high on safe countries list
Prosperity
“At the core is a shared aim to secure future prosperity for Gibraltar and the surrounding region. “This will be delivered through a treaty which brings confidence, legal certainty and stability to the lives and livelihoods of the people of Gibraltar and neighbouring communities, without prejudice to legal positions on sovereignty and jurisdiction.” Raab said the aim was to have ‘fluid movement of people and goods between Gibraltar and the EU’. However, he warned that if a treaty was not beneficial to Gibraltar or the UK, he was ‘fully prepared to accept the implications’. He added that whatever hapALL AREAS COVERED pened, ‘the UK will stand fully behind Gibraltar, its peo4G UNLIMITED ple and its economy in any INTERNET scenario’.
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ON THE WAY: An influx of tourists is hoped for as Gibraltar is expected to be put on the UK’s ‘green list’ GIBRALTAR is getting ready for a flood of tourists when the ban on UK residents travelling abroad is lifted on May 17. UK authorities could greenlist The Rock in its proposed traffic light system to rate countries that have the lowest infections and highest vaccinations. With active cases now at seven in Gibraltar and no-one
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with the virus in hospital or elderly nursing homes for the past two weeks, COVID-19 is no longer the threat it once was. Almost the whole population have taken their vaccinations too, so it is less likely that there will be another outbreak. All these factors point to Gibraltar being placed on the green list, although its close proximity to Spain could be a problem. The Rock’s Minister for Tourism talked about handling COVID-19 on the BBC Five Live radio programme recently. “This was an excellent opportunity to inform UK radio
listeners about our intentions of welcoming British tourists to Gibraltar as soon as the UK Government allows its citizens to travel,” said Daryanani. “They were keen to know that
we are a safe destination for travel. “As we continue to raise awareness of Gibraltar, we will advertise our product in the UK news media as much as possible.”