Some of you may know that that Spain has done a dirty on Great Britain over Gibraltar

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1189778/Gibraltar-trick-Spain-grabs-sea-rights-guise-environmental-protection.html

I have set up a petition to the British Prime Minister on the number 10 website, details of which I quote below. My reasons? I have holidayed in Gib 3 times over the last 5 years and I love the place, and it's British. Good enough for me. And I will also be sending a very nasty letter to the Spanish Ambassador in London.

Please click on the link below to confirm that you wish the Number 10 website to display the petition at the bottom of this email in your name.

Your petition reads:

We the undersigned petition the Prime Minister to uphold the Sovereignty of Gibraltar, by robustly challenging the actions of Spain in declaring an environmental protection zone in British territorial waters.

Spain, which has been challenging British sovereignty on the Rock for 300 years, has now laid claim under an EU 'environmental protection' scheme to most of the 20 square miles of British territorial waters that surround the Gibraltar peninsula .

The Rock has been a key strategic outpost since it was ceded by Spain to Britain in perpetuity under the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

The sea surrounding the Rock is designated British Gibraltar Territorial Waters. But the Spanish have convinced the European Commission to include most of it in a new environmental zone, to be maintained by Spain.

It has been swallowed up by the Estrecho Oriental, a 69-square-mile marine conservation area.

Under EU law, a conservation site can only be declared by the sovereign state which owns the piece of land or sea in question. So by allowing Spain's request to include the waters around Gibraltar, European bureaucrats have tacitly recognised its possession of British territory.

Thank you for submitting your petition.

[This email has been automatically sent by the Number 10 petitions system ]

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Don't drink water, that's the stuff that rusts pipes

"We ... don't own this world.
It's ours to share ... and pass along."

Agreed Sarge, but Sovereignty means a lot to the British, remember the Falklands? It is who and what we are. But, this place does not have a politics board, so I think we'd best leave any further discussion to PM's. I just wanted people to be aware of the situation.

I didnt know you were a falk Chris.. :p ;-)

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>sovereignty
Oh, and pure coincidence - there is a little bit of oil in the seabed around the Falklands...

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Cheers,

PeterV

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>sovereignty
Oh, and pure coincidence - there is a little bit of oil in the seabed around the Falklands...

Oil? Oh - then it must be mine.. hehe

Hei Peter! ;-)

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@ Miss Moon - Hei! No I'm not a Falk just an Englander :-)

@ Verstapp - Hi Peter - No there is very little oil around the Falklands, that had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

@ Sarge - Agreed in principle but it isn't a simple as that is it?

@ Everyone - The Falklands issue had very many similarities to the current Gibraltar situation. It is all about two countries laying claim to the same piece of land. Argentina said the land was the Malvinas and therefore theirs. Britian said sorry, it is the Falklands and it's ours.

As far as Britain was concerned, Argentina invaded our sovereign territory, therefore we had no choice but to take military action to reclaim it. If we hadn't done it would have meant abandoning those islanders that voted to remain British.

It is the same here with Gibraltar. The citizens there have voted time and time again overwhelmingly to remain British. And as such they will have the full force of the British Governments support. Spain has always contested the British ownership of Gibraltar, but then again they would do wouldn't they. They chose give it away and have regretted it ever since.

The citizens there have voted time and time again overwhelmingly to remain British.

I went to Gibraltar once, stayed overnight on my travels. I don't profess to be on expert on Gibraltar, but I do know that Gibratar does not belong to Spain and niether do the waters around it, and have not for hundreds of years. My understanding is that whilst Gibraltar has the protection of the UK, it is run and administered by the people who live there, who wish to remain British, as quoted above.

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@ Miss Moon - Hei! No I'm not a Falk just an Englander :-)

@ Verstapp - Hi Peter - No there is very little oil around the Falklands, that had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

@ Sarge - Agreed in principle but it isn't a simple as that is it?

@ Everyone - The Falklands issue had very many similarities to the current Gibraltar situation. It is all about two countries laying claim to the same piece of land. Argentina said the land was the Malvinas and therefore theirs. Britian said sorry, it is the Falklands and it's ours.

As far as Britain was concerned, Argentina invaded our sovereign territory, therefore we had no choice but to take military action to reclaim it. If we hadn't done it would have meant abandoning those islanders that voted to remain British.

It is the same here with Gibraltar. The citizens there have voted time and time again overwhelmingly to remain British. And as such they will have the full force of the British Governments support. Spain has always contested the British ownership of Gibraltar, but then again they would do wouldn't they. They chose give it away and have regretted it ever since.

I thought Thatcher invaded the Falklands so she'd win the election.

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@ Miss Moon - Hei! No I'm not a Falk just an Englander :-)

@ Verstapp - Hi Peter - No there is very little oil around the Falklands, that had nothing whatsoever to do with it.

@ Sarge - Agreed in principle but it isn't a simple as that is it?

@ Everyone - The Falklands issue had very many similarities to the current Gibraltar situation. It is all about two countries laying claim to the same piece of land. Argentina said the land was the Malvinas and therefore theirs. Britian said sorry, it is the Falklands and it's ours.

As far as Britain was concerned, Argentina invaded our sovereign territory, therefore we had no choice but to take military action to reclaim it. If we hadn't done it would have meant abandoning those islanders that voted to remain British.

It is the same here with Gibraltar. The citizens there have voted time and time again overwhelmingly to remain British. And as such they will have the full force of the British Governments support. Spain has always contested the British ownership of Gibraltar, but then again they would do wouldn't they. They chose give it away and have regretted it ever since.

I thought Thatcher invaded the Falklands so she'd win the election.

Of course she did. But Chris was out drinking beer that night. ;-)

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