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Territorial Disputes Causing Hunger in Gibraltar

Hunger in GibraltarFor centuries, the territory of Gibraltar has been stuck in the middle of a fierce custody battle between Spain and Great Britain. Hunger in Gibraltar, while not currently a problem, has historically been an issue during its ubiquitous territorial disputes.

Gibraltar’s location on the southern end of Spain between Europe and Morocco is a strategic location. It’s a small territory, consisting of roughly 32,000 people, and has been part of Great Britain for 300 years since its capture from Spain during the War of Spanish Succession in 1704. It officially became a British territory with the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht.

During World War II, most of Gibraltar was evacuated. Even during the fierce fighting of the war, Gibraltar was an object of contention between Great Britain and Spain. This is largely due to Gibraltar’s position as a port to the Mediterranean Sea. The years following the war saw increased border restrictions by Spain which continued well into the 1960s. During this time, food shortages began to make their mark throughout Gibraltar. Hunger in Gibraltar was a natural byproduct of the closed border to Spain and the complexity of importing food to the country.

In 1967 Gibraltar held a referendum regarding its sovereignty and overwhelmingly voted to remain part of the United Kingdom. Despite the votes from the Gibraltar people, Britain and Spain have maintained their spat over the territory.

This national dispute has seen Spain further change its border restrictions and has attempted negotiations for shared territorial rights with Great Britain. However, their stance regarding Gibraltar has recently become more intimidating. Proposals have been introduced to tax vehicles entering and leaving Gibraltar. Property owners surrounding Spanish territories are facing investigations for irregularities and is considering closing its airspace for flights heading to Gibraltar.

Territorial disputes have had a lasting impact on the territory. Gibraltar has experienced 300 years of being in the middle and its economy and culture have been stretched thin as a result. At the moment, hunger in Gibraltar is not a major issue but may become more problematic if Spain continues its spirit of intimidation.

It is up to Spain to respect the referendum vote and the Treaty of Utrecht so as not to have further negative ramifications for the citizens of Gibraltar. 

– Eric Paulsen

Photo: Flickr

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Hunger in Gibraltar No Longer a Problem

Hunger in GibraltarTwenty-first-century Gibraltar is drastically different from what it was just thirty years ago. According to the CIA’s World Fact Book, the self-sufficient British Overseas Territory benefits from an extensive shipping trade, offshore banking, its position as an international conference center and tourism, among many other economic drivers. Low tax rates have also attracted plentiful foreign investment, driving British military presence to decrease to seven percent from the original 60 percent in the mid-1980s and hunger in Gibraltar to near dissolution.

Although no data exists to date for the percentage of Gibraltar’s 34,408 citizen population living below the international poverty line, the territory’s unemployment rate was listed as one percent in 2016, suggesting that Gibraltar has come a long way since the 19th century, when malnutrition, disease and economic instability were widespread. With improvements in the economy, poverty and hunger in Gibraltar have naturally become less and less concerning.

Gibraltar is currently a member of the European Union as a Special State territory, joining the European Economic Community under the United Kingdom in 1973. Despite its membership, Gibraltar is not subject to the same taxation requirements as other members. As a result, the territory has no capital gains tax, wealth tax, sales tax or value added tax. Non-resident businesses do not pay income tax unless the sources of this income are Gibraltar proper, and there is no tax on capital income. This plethora of “tax-free” conditions has made international trade a large player in the Gibraltarian economy, as non-resident companies can take advantage of such regimes to reduce taxation.

With recent Brexit developments, however, a debate over Gibraltar’s continued status as a member of the EU has arisen. Over 96 percent of the territory’s population voted to remain in a referendum held in June 2016 on the issue of continued EU membership. Since the referendum, Spain has offered a plan to keep Gibraltar in the EU on the condition that Madrid shares sovereignty over Gibraltar with London. Gibraltarian citizens overwhelmingly rejected the proposal.

Gibraltar currently benefits from the tourism industry and trade with Spain through its membership in the EU. Not only would leaving the EU mean leaving the European common market, a risky move for an extremely dependent territory like Gibraltar, but Spain’s economy would suffer as well. In 2007 alone, Gibraltar imported more than £174 million of goods and services from Spain, excluding petroleum imports, and enabled both Spanish and Gibraltarian frontier workers to earn £82.8 million from within the economy of Gibraltar.

On the surface poverty and hunger in Gibraltar may no longer be major issues of concern, but looming economic policy decisions could drastically change and shape the future of the territory.

– Katherine Wang