COFFEE WITH SIR GRAHAM

Whenever I am in Brussels, which to be honest isn’t that often, I always try and touch base with our Lib Dem Euro MP, Sir Graham Watson. I have described Graham many times as our man at the EU because of our six elected MEPs he is by far the most proactive on our behalf.

I met up with him for coffee last Thursday before he headed off for a busy Brussels day and then flew home to his constituency, which could be anywhere in the South West of England or indeed Gibraltar.

I was taken up to Graham’s office by Sonia, one of his hardworking team. Sonia has skills involving throwing coffee cups in to the air, which are rare even at the EU, but my lips are sealed. However she gave an interesting insight in to Graham’s widespread constituency.

Euro MPs are allowed to claim for travel to and from their constituencies. However she was having a lot of trouble with the EU’s fees office over Graham’s travel to Gibraltar. Officials could not understand why the UK MEP for the South West of England was flying to Gibraltar and even on occasions to Málaga. There is no other constituency of this type in the EU and of our six Euro MPs Graham is a frequent visitor whilst the others are not.

Needless to say the two key topics on our agenda over coffee were EU related. The awaited report by the EU inspectors on the summer border chaos and the Commission’s State Aid enquiry.

There is still no word on the outcome of the inspection at our border although it took place around a month ago. However I suspect four weeks is not a long time in Brussels. Graham has been pushing for the report to be issued and is very bullish on what he believes should be its conclusions. Graham here has two advantages: he has sat in the queues himself and he knows how the EU works so he hopes justice is done and is seen to be done in Gibraltar’s favour.

The European Commission’s decision on starting a State Aid enquiry had just been announced and was welcomed by our own Government who believe we are in a good place. Indeed anybody who listened to our Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, speak on BBC Radio Four’s Today programme at the crack of dawn on Monday will know he totally disarmed what was set to be an aggressive attack from his business affairs interviewer.

Graham had been monitoring the Twitterati in Gibraltar who had smelt a rat in that it was a Spanish Commissioner who would be investigating our affairs. It could not be any other way as Joaquín Almunia is the EC Commissioner in charge of this specific matter and the EC has to investigate a complaint when it is laid.

However as I pointed out to Graham and have written here previously Joaquín Almunia is hardly flavour of the month in Madrid and is not on Rajoy’s Christmas card list. In July he declared that Spain’s ship yard subsidies were illegal and had to be repaid with the industry warning that 87,000 jobs could be put at risk, many in Almunia’s home territory. The figure paid out in subsidies is 2.8 billion euros but the figure to be repaid, which could be 20 per cent less, has yet to be fixed. When you are an EC Commissioner you serve the EU not the country that appointed you.

The elephant in the room whilst we sipped coffee and chatted was would Graham be here this time next year. Indeed I had just attended in Brussels a PES election strategy meeting designed to get socialists in and others including Lib Dems out. Interestingly though when I voiced my support for Graham to PES members it was clearly obvious he was highly regarded in the socialist camp.

The South West of England constituency of which Gibraltar is part is not typical of the UK. Graham admits this will probably be his hardest fought election yet. The Lib Dems are on the slide and it remains to be seen how UKIP and the Conservatives will do in a Euro seat where they hold two and three seats respectively. I along with many others will be working to ensure one of those seats at least goes to Labour. None-the-less I will also be supporting Sir Graham Watson the Man because I believe if he loses his seat, Gibraltar will lose its most powerful advocate in Brussels.

GIBRALTARIANS RIGHT TO VOTE IN UK’S IN-OUT EU REFERENDUM

My article centres on events being played out in a dusty committee room of the House of Commons. A battle is underway to ensure Gibraltarians are allowed to vote in the Conservative’s EU In-Out Referendum should the Tories be returned to power at the next UK election.

Gibraltar has been a member of the EU since January 1 1973 by virtue of Britain’s membership. However although Gibraltarians are full European citizens we were denied a vote in the European Elections until the 2004 poll. Gibraltarian’s will well know this followed a ten-year legal fight which culminated with the European Court ruling that as European Citizens we had the fundamental right to vote in the Euro elections. The UK then added Gibraltar to the South West England Constituency where it sits today.

A cynic may say there are two facts that may colour the Conservative Party’s seeming reluctance to include Gibraltar in its EU In-Out referendum. The first is that in the 2009 European Elections Gibraltar was the only area amongst all the UK Constituencies where the vote for Labour increased.

The second is that Gibraltar is very pro-Europe and indeed the UK’s withdrawal from the EU would be politically and economically disastrous for us. Hence if an In – Out Referendum is held in 2017 it is likely that Gibraltarians will vote massively to continue EU membership. True Gibraltar only has around 20,000 votes but in a tight election that total could help swing the election in favour of staying in the EU.

The whole concept of the 2017 referendum is a bizarre piece of legislation. It is not the Conservative – Lib Dem Government that is proposing it but it comes in the form of a Tory private member’s bill. It would only be enacted if a Conservative Government was returned. It has little to do with the EU but rather is a tactic to fend off UKIP at the next General Election and to keep Tory Euro-sceptics onside.

In off the record chats with Gibraltar Government officials I have been told that the UK has given the impression that Gibraltarians would be allowed to vote in the referendum. However there is nothing in writing and the current bill being discussed in Committee at the House of Commons, the Conservative Private Member’s Bill, does not allow for Gibraltarians to vote.

The Conservative Minister for Europe David Lidington had the chance to clear up the matter last week when he addressed the committee stage of the Bill. He said that regardless of whether or not Gibraltar is included in the In-Out referendum on the EU, which has yet to be determined, the UK should consult the Government of Gibraltar to fully understand its views as Gibraltarians would be affected by the decision either way.

Indeed they would Mr Lidington but asking the Gibraltar Government its views is a far cry from allowing Gibraltarians, as British and European citizens, to vote and is simply not acceptable. The suspicion that the Tories intend to deny Gibraltarians the vote is strengthened by the fact that Lidington did not take the opportunity when he had it to state categorically that we would be allowed to participate which would have cleared up all doubt.

Instead it has been left to Lidington’s shadow, Labour Europe Minister Emma Reynolds and her team to fight Gibraltar’s corner. Reynolds is worried that the bill as currently drafted fails to appreciate the particular and unique legal and constitutional position of Gibraltar as both a self governing British Overseas Territory and as part of the European Union.

As the Bill is currently drafted, the entitlement to vote in the proposed referendum will be restricted to “persons who, on the date of the referendum, would be entitled to vote as electors at a parliamentary election in any constituency.”

Whilst Gibraltarians are entitled to vote in European Parliamentary elections as part of the South West England Constituency we are self governing and not represented in the UK’s Parliament. The people of Gibraltar would therefore not be able to vote on whether to remain or leave the European Union should a referendum take place. There is also the prospect of Gibraltar having to leave the European Union, alongside the UK, without its people having had a say. Labour has proposed two key amendments: the first to ensure that Gibraltarians as British citizens are included and the second that Gibraltar’s result is declared separately. Will the Tories take note? No sign so far!

For Gibraltar this is a two-fold issue. Gibraltarians, as European Citizens, must be allowed to vote on their future in Europe. Withdrawal would have important negative economic implications for Gibraltar.

Gibraltar’s successful business model has taken the best part of the past forty years to develop as Gibraltarians have matured into their role in Europe. In an address to the Fabian Society in London in April Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, stated: “Our success in tourism, bunkering, telecoms, financial services and gaming as well as the many other sectors of our economic activity depends on our membership of the EU giving us unimpeded access to the Single Market in services and free movement of people and capital.” He added: “Now would be the wrong to time to change one of the few successful economic models in Southern Europe.”

The prospect of Gibraltar’s economy being destroyed by the UK’s withdrawal from the EU, via a referendum in which Gibraltarians as British and European Citizens had no say, would be disastrous for Gibraltar and disastrous for our concept of democracy. It is the duty of the Conservative-led Government and the Conservative Party to ensure that does not happen.

IMPORTANT GIBRALTAR’S VOICE IS HEARD

Sir Graham Watson interview

I was in Brussels last week for a high level Party of European Socialists conference at the EU on Europe’s industrial policy. I should stress it was high level not because I was there but because the keynote speakers were Laszlo Andor, EU Commissioner for Employment and Social Affairs, and Bernadette Segol, the General Secretary of the European Trade Union Confederation.

A man who spends much of his time in Brussels working for Gibraltar is our Lib Dem Euro MP, Sir Graham Watson. I once dubbed him in an article as “The man who speaks for Gibraltar” and that is no exaggeration. So I took the opportunity to ask for his views on Gibraltar in Europe, next year’s European Parliament elections and the UK’s possible in – out referendum on EU membership

David Eade: Sir Graham, thanks in large amount to your hard word Gibraltar’s voice is now heard at the EU? What impact does Gibraltar now have and how can that be continued and strengthened?

Sir Graham Watson: In view of Spain's frustration of the lives of EU citizens living and working on the Rock it is important that Gibraltar's voice be heard. I have been pleased to organise meetings with EU Commissioners and other senior officials to ensure that the administration in Brussels is aware of Gibraltar's challenges. This is a process which should continue, since many of the decisions made in Brussels have an impact on Gibraltar.

DE: Next year we have the European elections. Currently in your seat there are three Conservatives, two UKIP and yourself. I believe it is important for Gibraltar that you are re-elected as you have been the only pro-active MEP for Gibraltar. However with the increasing popularity of UKIP and with the pressure on the Conservative and Lib Dem votes how are you viewing the looming polling day?

Sir Graham: Gibraltar's voters can have an impact in this election. Support for populist and newly established parties is rising across the EU, but I hope that voters will look at the way these parties' MEPs conduct themselves and recognise the much better value they get from those who seek election in order to achieve things rather than simply to make a protest.

DE: The UK seems set on an “in – out” referendum on EU membership. If the UK voted to leave I believe it would be a disaster for Gibraltar. Do you believe there will be a referendum and what will its likely outcome be?

Sir Graham: Having Liberal Democrats in government in the UK has prevented there being a referendum in this parliament. The Conservatives want one in the next. Much will depend on whether they win the next election. Should the UK pull out of the EU it would indeed have a huge impact on Gibraltar and would give grist to the mill of the Castilian nationalists.

DE: As Gibraltar is a member of the EU by virtue of the UK’s membership if the UK withdraws so too will Gibraltar without having any say in the matter. However Gibraltar unlike the UK is part of mainland Europe and its future lies within Europe. Is there or could there be a mechanism for Gibraltar to have its own status within the EU?

Sir Graham: There is not, but Woodrow Wilson's doctrine of the right of peoples to self determination has lost none of its validity. And the question of whether people can be stripped of their rights as EU citizens through loss of that citizenship against their will is indeed poignant.

 

SIR GRAHAM IS ELECTED TO SPEAK ON OUR BEHALF

I have written a lot over the years about the efforts of the Lib Dem Euro MP, Sir Graham Watson, to battle for Gibraltar in Europe. Indeed he is our most effective representative in Brussels and the European Parliament by a long shot although he is outnumbered by Tories and UKIP MEPs in the South West England and Gibraltar constituency.

Being a Lib Dem he has a firm base in Gibraltar with our own Liberal Party both when that party was in opposition and now it is in government. He has held on-going meetings with his constituents on the Rock and spoken on their behalf for years.

The fact the former Supreme Leader and his successor Daniel Feetham seem not to be able to grasp is that he is elected by Gibraltarians to speak for them in Europe and to raise issues related to the EU. British politicians do not have any mandate to speak for Gibraltar but Sir Graham does.

I met Sir Graham in Gibraltar in the last period of the Supreme Leader’s administration and we discussed his role on representing Gibraltarians. It was an open secret that tensions existed between our Euro MP and the former Supreme Leader for the simple reason that the latter believed he was the only person who should speak for Gibraltarians even if what he said was more often than not at odds with what they wanted.

Never has Sir Graham criticised the former Supreme Leader to me when we met or indeed in our correspondence over the years either on or off the record. He has a high standard of ethics hence his knighthood.

However Sir Graham did speak up for Gibraltarians on European issues in London, Brussels and here for the very simple reason that more often than not the former Supreme Leader refused to do so. Or, in some cases, he or his administration infringed the European rights of Gibraltarians.

Obviously the GSD have been stung by the success of the Gibraltar Government’s delegation not only to Brussels but also to London and Washington. In the latter two cases the doors of No 10 and the White House were never opened to the former Supreme Leader. I wonder why?

The success of the Brussels visit can be partly attributed to Sir Graham and he should be thanked and not slated for his hard work in making the encounters happen.

That being said Sir Graham is a Euro MP. He does not have the power to block the Chief Minister of Gibraltar visiting Euro officials or putting our case in Brussels.

The fact that such visits never took place during the 16 years that the Supreme Leader was in power are down to the Supreme Leader and nobody else. His failure to engage with Brussels, the European Parliament and a whole range of other people who could have helped Gibraltar are his responsibility alone.

Feetham says Sir Graham broke a long-standing convention that UK frontline politicians do not interfere in local politics. Sorry but the Foreign Office, the Ministry of Defence, the Treasury and its ministers are involved in our local politics whether we like it or not. In contrast Sir Graham is elected by Gibraltarians to speak for us: Danny it is called democracy!

The one person who is owed an apology here is Sir Graham. Sadly Daniel Feetham, following in the footsteps of the Supreme Leader, lacks the grace to tender one.

SPAIN FALLS OUT OF LOVE WITH EUROPE

 

Britain has always had a large number of citizens who would describe themselves as euro sceptics. However in contrast Spain has gained so much from its entry to the EC that the people have been firmly behind the European project. However with the economic crisis all that has changed dramatically.

In a survey carried out by the Pew Research Centre 30 per cent of Britons are satisfied with the direction their country is taking but 65 per cent are dissatisfied. In Spain the satisfieds make up only 10 per cent of the population and a far higher percentage, 88, are not happy at all.

In Britain in 2007 52 per cent of people viewed Europe favourably compared with a massive 80 per cent in Spain. This year the UK rating is down seven percent at 45 but the support in Spain has collapsed by 20 per cent to 60.

In the corruption stakes Britons believe Italy is the most corrupt country (38 per cent) followed by Greece on 30 but only 13 per cent believe Spain is corrupt, one per cent more than think their own country is. Gibraltarians will cast a wry smile over that assessment and agree more with Spaniards themselves who view things very differently. They give their own country and Italy a 63 per cent corruption rating with Greece just on 24.

In 2007 30 per cent of Britons were satisfied with their country, the same figure as this year. Fifty-one percent of Spaniards were satisfied in 2007 but that has tumbled by minus 41 per cent to just ten per cent.

The contentment with the economic situation in both countries follows a similar dip. In 2007 69 per cent of Britons were satisfied, now just 15 per cent are, a drop of 54 per cent. In Spain the 2007 figure was 65 per cent and is now six, a drop of 59 per cent.

However the attitude of Spaniards to the EC and indeed the euro has many implications for Gibraltar. In recent months concern has been raised here over the UK holding a referendum to leave the EC (which hopefully Gibraltarians would have a vote in) and how would the Rock fair outside of the union should the vote be for withdrawal.

We also need to watch trends across the border. Willie Walsh the supremo of the united British Airways – Iberia conglomerate revealed they are holding senior meetings on a weekly basis to plan for Spain’s withdrawal from the euro. Everybody knew Spain was in a financial mess but leaving the euro has never been previously discussed.

What if that did happen and in turn Spain decided it would quit the EC? The implications for Gibraltar could be massive. We may not have been particularly well served by Brussels on matters relating to Spain but if our neighbours become a rogue state without any checks or balances then we could be in very dangerous waters indeed.

WHO SPEAKS FOR GIBRALTAR IN EUROPE?

I finished my article in Panorama on Wednesday on the subject of the British EU crisis with the words: “There is however a serious point for the Gibraltar government to consider here. Gibraltar may or may not be a colony depending on how you read the status report. The Rock may have a strong degree of self-governance. Yet the fact remains that the decision on whether Gibraltar remains in the EU will not be made by the government of the day, or the Gibraltarian people even if they are given participation in a UK referendum, but in London. Furthermore, if the British Government decides to withdraw how the decision will affect Gibraltar will not even be taken in to consideration.”

Now this very point was reinforced on the BBC Today programme on Radio Four yesterday by Alex Salmond who is the First Minister in Scotland. He was spitting blood over David Cameron’s actions at the EU Summit because he says it damages Scotland’s interests. Indeed the point has been made that Cameron was laying back and thinking of England and has potentially made life very difficult for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with their devolved assemblies – and indeed Gibraltar.

Others have gone so far as to argue that Cameron’s veto has given a weapon to the Scottish Nationalists in their campaign for independence from England. Salmond sees the Cameron veto as ensuring a hostile environment for Scotland’s own fishery talks with the EU this week. Scotland wants to be part of the EU and Salmond hasn’t ruled out joining the euro in the future.

Now if Cameron isn’t worried about Scotland it is probable that Gib isn’t even on his radar. Conservatives have always been viewed as the party of the Union but an independent Scotland would create an England with a perpetual Conservative majority government. Scotland is far more vital to Ed Miliband and Labour because without its Scottish MPs it can never form a British Government. So does Cameron even care about Scotland and the Union?

My next question is who truly speaks for Gibraltar in Europe? Of course Gibraltarians fought any almighty battle to be represented in the European Parliament and are now part of the South West England constituency. I have praised Sir Graham Watson (pictured above), the Lib Dem MEP, here before for his sterling work speaking up for Gibraltarians in Europe and holding the British and indeed the Gibraltar government to account. With the Liberals forming a key component of the new Gibraltar Government Sir Graham’s role will become even more important.

Sadly the five other MEPs will be of little use in defending Gibraltar’s interests in wishing to be fully involved with the EU. Two, the Earl of Dartmouth and Trevor Colman, are members of UKIP which wants the UK out of Europe at all costs. The other three, Giles Chichester, Julie Girling and Ashley Fox, are all I am reliably told Euro sceptics at best. Hence only Sir Graham is available to argue Gibraltar’s case in a constructive manner.

Gibraltar has long had a London office to be its voice in the UK. Perhaps Sir Graham should be consulted on how Gibraltar can also make its presence felt in Brussels – a task which requires it to punch way above its weight (as always) to have the views of Gibraltarians listened to and acted on.

PS: Dychow-houlsedhas Pou an Zouzn is Cornish for South West England Constituency. Just thought you’d like to know.

GIBRALTARIANS DO NOT ENJOY THE BASIC SAME HUMAN RIGHTS AS THEIR UK COUNTERPARTS

If you are a non-Gibraltarian who visits the Rock you will be struck by the thriving, modern society that exists all around you. You would chat with a sophisticated people. You would assume that Gibraltarians enjoy the same basic human rights as their British counterparts, or indeed Spaniards across the border, but you would be wrong.

In many instances Gibraltarians are in a rights limbo. If they were in the UK those rights would be protected by law and they would have redress under a whole series of headings against government, officials and so on. That is not true on the Rock because if a Gibraltarian has a complaint it is addressed, quite rightly to the Gibraltar Government, and not that of Britain. However all too often their own government legally turns a deaf ear because few rights are enshrined in law.

If a Gibraltarian seeks justice he or she can’t go to the UK government either because it does not have jurisdiction here. Therefore the only route is to Europe where, in theory, their case has the right to be heard. Yet even that is fraught with problems because in Brussels the conclusion would more often than not be that as British Citizens the British Government should be held to account to sort it out, which of course, it can’t.

It was put to me recently that the chief minister, Peter Caruana, was far from pleased when Gibraltarians received the Euro vote and hence a voice in the European Parliament. I had never thought about it before because it seemed strange to me that the elected leader of the Gibraltarian people would not want them to enjoy the widest representation. On the other hand it meant they had a right to go directly to Brussels or the European Parliament on issues that the chief minister might consider only he should have control over. For some democratic leaders democracy is a bitter pill to swallow.

Marcus Killick, the chairman of the Financial Services Commission, recently called for an Ombudsman to represent customers in their relations with the financial sector. For non-Gibraltarians it is startling to learn that those who live on the Rock do not enjoy such a vital service that is considered the norm elsewhere in the EU – yet so far there is no indication the government will give a positive answer to Killick’s plea.

Indeed as the general election draws near the rights of Gibraltarians to have free access to these basic rights and open government will reach a crescendo. The problem for the GSD is the party has been in government for four terms and has paid scant regard to the fundamental rights of its people. Hence a cynic might say if Caruana suddenly takes on the guise of St Paul on the road to Damascus on these key issues his conversation will be on a par with the Syrian president’s claim to have discovered democracy – not worth the scroll it is written on.