Spain wants Gibealtar as part of Brexit.

[Kuffy]

They have no chance. Given that the Eton/Oxford banking elite are a major part of the body that controls the EU, and Gibraltar is a significant tax haven, and investment management host country, they aren't going to give that up to an unstable country, that may be leaving the EU itself. Given all these issues being raised by member countries, it is going to be difficult to try to agree a single deal that is viable. This will result in the UK leaving under WTO rules at the end of the year, and this is what we voted for in the original Brexit referendum. What a waste of five years our treasonous politicians created.

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[styca]

Spain wants Gibraltar regardless. Difficult to see what the UK or the EU genuinely would be willing to accept at the moment. Negotiations haven't started properly; we're still in the preliminary stage where it's all posturing and bluster. Agree with you that any deal in the timeframe given seems ambitious though, to say the least.

One thing that strikes me as a bit ridiculous is the conciliatory noises the EU are making towards Scotland. In the past they've always been against this, so it's quite a reversal... effectively giving the green light to separatists everywhere and so hastening the breakup of its own member states. Can't see the logic.

[Kuffy]

Politicians should stick to politics, and leave trade deals to businesses. All politicians seem to be able to do is to impose taxes and tariffs.

[nakisama]

Politicians should stick to politics, and leave trade deals to businesses. All politicians seem to be able to do is to impose taxes and tariffs.

Without taxpayers they would not exist so of course they impose tax and tariffs.
there is no free lunch

[KingScorpio]

Politicians should stick to politics, and leave trade deals to businesses. All politicians seem to be able to do is to impose taxes and tariffs.

politicians obey the electorate and the electorate dictated them to take controll of trade deals and not to care about the multinational corporations

[KingScorpio]

They have no chance. Given that the Eton/Oxford banking elite are a major part of the body that controls the EU, and Gibraltar is a significant tax haven, and investment management host country, they aren't going to give that up to an unstable country, that may be leaving the EU itself. Given all these issues being raised by member countries, it is going to be difficult to try to agree a single deal that is viable. This will result in the UK leaving under WTO rules at the end of the year, and this is what we voted for in the original Brexit referendum. What a waste of five years our treasonous politicians created.

spain should better just shut up, and see gibraltar seeking to leave uk on its own, like shottland wales and northern ireland, acting monarchic imperialist is cursed. brits will emberass themselves over and over again, parts of its kingdom leave.

if spain acts like a stupid nazi monarchy it will sooner or later start losing credibility, and lose influence in europe to germany.

[mindrust]

It looks so weird on the world map seeing how Gibraltar belongs to the UK but not Spain.

Then I actually read the story about it and saw that it was Spain that left the soil to the British in 1713...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_Gibraltar

After reading about it, I don't think the UK gonna give it back just because Spain asked it nicely.   It has been three hundred years

[squatz1]

Politicians should stick to politics, and leave trade deals to businesses. All politicians seem to be able to do is to impose taxes and tariffs.

...Businesses can setup deals, but they're unable to setup trade deals (which is just a word used to signify the regulations, tariffs, taxes, etc that are apart of trading in our globalized world) Politicans (and businesses through lobbying and so on) are and must be apart of the trade process.

It looks so weird on the world map seeing how Gibraltar belongs to the UK but not Spain.

Then I actually read the story about it and saw that it was Spain that left the soil to the British in 1713...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_Gibraltar

After reading about it, I don't think the UK gonna give it back just because Spain asked it nicely.  It has been three hundred years

They're not really asking nicely, they're working in the background with the EU to try to force Britain into giving it up. They're backing the land claim of Spain to control Gibraltar, while members of the Johnson (Britian) government are telling the EU not to push Gibraltar around.

[styca]

I don't think the UK gonna give it back

Yes, there's no chance of that. We're a nation of xenophobic flag-wielding zealots. I suspect even now there are a bunch of drunken Brits arm-in-arm, manning the border with Spain, singing Rule Britannia and demanding that anyone without a blue passport be deported, or burned at the stake or something.

I think they should have restricted the vote to people who can actually spell the word plebiscite.

[KingScorpio]

I don't think the UK gonna give it back

Yes, there's no chance of that. We're a nation of xenophobic flag-wielding zealots. I suspect even now there are a bunch of drunken Brits arm-in-arm, manning the border with Spain, singing Rule Britannia and demanding that anyone without a blue passport be deported, or burned at the stake or something.

I think they should have restricted the vote to people who can actually spell the word plebiscite.

spain then will simply block trade with it, and gibraltar becomes an economic liability, because uk will all the time have to ship in food there.

[gentlemand]

spain then will simply block trade with it, and gibraltar becomes an economic liability, because uk will all the time have to ship in food there.

The land border to Spain was shut for many, many years under Franco. If Gibraltans wanted to get to Spain they had to go to Morocco first and then cross the sea back again.

If it became fully Spanish that entire region would crater. It's totally broke and Gibraltar is the only economic engine in that area. Gibraltar as part of Spain is worthless other than restoring some pride.

No idea what the outcome will be but ultimately its residents should be the ones who have the greatest say.

I don't really get why it bothers the Spaniards, other than the chronic cigarette smuggling. I think it would be brilliant to have a Spanish enclave just over the road.

[KingScorpio]

spain then will simply block trade with it, and gibraltar becomes an economic liability, because uk will all the time have to ship in food there.

The land border to Spain was shut for many, many years under Franco. If Gibraltans wanted to get to Spain they had to go to Morocco first and then cross the sea back again.

If it became fully Spanish that entire region would crater. It's totally broke and Gibraltar is the only economic engine in that area. Gibraltar as part of Spain is worthless other than restoring some pride.

No idea what the outcome will be but ultimately its residents should be the ones who have the greatest say.

I don't really get why it bothers the Spaniards, other than the chronic cigarette smuggling. I think it would be brilliant to have a Spanish enclave just over the road.

think there is a different solution, gibraltar simply becomes autonomous.

[Artemis3]

It looks so weird on the world map seeing how Gibraltar belongs to the UK but not Spain.

Then I actually read the story about it and saw that it was Spain that left the soil to the British in 1713...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Status_of_Gibraltar

After reading about it, I don't think the UK gonna give it back just because Spain asked it nicely.   It has been three hundred years

Same with Falkland islands but that never stopped the UK, even going to war for them in the 80ies. History says the Argentinians had some prison there which was "liberated" by some Privateer (This Falkland guy) and the Argentinians never took it back until the 80ies. It is way too far from the UK, incredibly expensive to keep running, little or no strategic value, production is sheep, maybe some fishing but not much else. Only recently there is new controversy of possible oil in the ocean surrounding it.

The UK used to be a world naval Empire with colonies all over the world, they released most of them, but not all.

Like Gibraltar, if Falkland were truly returned it would probably end neglected in poverty. Independence with benefits, like most UK ex-colonies could be a way. But they might not be able to sustain themselves on their own.

BTW: The British made the Falkland fox go extinct for daring eat some sheep here or there, not unlike the Portuguese did to the Dodo. Of course nobody cared about preservation a couple hundred years ago...