THE MEETING held by Arancha González Laya with Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar's chief minister, constitutes an awkwardness unprecedented in the history of our democracy. None of Laya's predecessors at the Palacio de Santa Cruz had dared to publicly and bilaterally acknowledge the dialogue with the Peñón authorities. From the Ministry of Foreign Affairs it was argued yesterday that during the appointment the sovereignty of the Rock was not addressed. Nothing else would be missing, of course. But the mere fact that the head of Spanish diplomacy sits down to talk to you with the highest political authority in the British colony is a turn that could alter the status quo of the entrenched position that Spain had maintained until now in relation to to the demand of its sovereignty over Gibraltar. Therefore, as PP, Ciudadanos and Vox have demanded, it is urgent that Laya go to the Congress of Deputies to explain his meeting with Picardo and, above all, to specify the position of the government of the PSOE and Podemos coalition in a claim that until now had transcended the political color of La Moncloa.

It is not so much a matter of choosing between sovereignty and pragmatism as of not lurching in a matter of special significance and symbolism for Spanish foreign policy. There are no resignations, no hesitation, no hasty turns in a context marked by the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union. The Government is not taking advantage of the Brexit negotiations to claim the Spanish sovereignty of Gibraltar, beyond the signed trade agreement and the preservation of the legal security of the 9,000 Spaniards who cross the gate every day. Until now, the Executive of Pedro Sánchez had been characterized by a reckless pasotismo in this matter. Just a year ago, it tolerated an operation by the Gibraltar Security Forces and the British Navy to detain an oil tanker in the face of "well-founded suspicions" that it was transporting crude destined for a port in Syria, in breach of the sanctions imposed by the EU. On the other hand, the pact signed between the Government of Spain and the United Kingdom in tax matters on Gibraltar, as ex-minister José Manuel García-Margallo rightly pointed out at the time, clamorously breaks the principles of equal opportunities and fair competition with the adjacent areas in Spanish territory, insofar as it taxes the benefits obtained within the Rock but not those reaped outside.

The appointment with Picardo is part of a multi-day visit by the Foreign Minister to La Línea de la Concepción and Campo de Gibraltar. Instead of focusing on the demands of the mayors of this area, which concern fundamental issues such as improving infrastructure and strengthening security, he has preferred to publicly exhibit a direct dialogue with the Gibraltar authorities, which is eroding Spain's interests in this historic dispute are clear. The PSOE returns to the old ways because Moratinos, being Foreign Minister during Zapatero's mandate, made the mistake of visiting Gibraltar in 2009, which was a turning point in the relationship with the Rock. Three centuries of litigation cannot be approached from irresponsibility, improvisation and lightness.

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