Gibraltar warns over prospect of Brexit

Gibraltar has warned that it will push for a "different degree of membership" of the EU if a referendum on a British exit is held following the UK general election.

"In the event of there being a referendum, each of the areas that vote, each of the nations that vote, Gibraltar included, should be counted separately," said Fabian Picardo, chief minister and leader of the Gibraltar Socialist Labour party.

"[If] one part of the UK decides that it wants out of the European Union, then the negotiations should involve each of the separate parts being able to remain with a different degree of membership," Mr Picardo added in an interview with the Financial Times.

Mr Picardo's stance echoes that of nationalist movements in mainland UK. The Scottish National party and Plaid Cymru in Wales have called for separate referendums in each of the four UK nations, with a "Brexit" from the EU guaranteed only if all four vote in favour.

But for Gibraltar, a tiny peninsula on the tip of Spain, the debate surrounding EU membership is different.

The British overseas territory has its own government and its economy - based around its port, financial services and online gaming - grew by more than 10 per cent in 2013, according to the latest figures available. Each day, about 10,000 people cross the border from Spain to work.

"The only existential threat to our economy is one where we are pulled out of the European Union against our will and denied access to the single market," Mr Picardo said. However, he did not think "even the most rabid anti-Europeans in the UK, in their moments of supreme madness, would advocate a 'complete out'", that severed all economic ties.

"I think everybody who is seriously talking about the subject, even those whose views I don't share, talk about retaining access to Europe as a member of the European economic area," he said.

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"I know that there are many in the UK who advocate the UK moving out of the EU who consider themselves to be very good friends of Gibraltar, but they need to understand the economics of this," Mr Picardo said.

Leaders of the anti-EU UK Independence party have rallied to support Gibraltar during disputes with Spain. In the summer of 2013, William Dartmouth, Ukip MEP for southwest England, which includes Gibraltar, advocated sending a warship as a "sign of commitment" after a particularly tense stand-off precipitated by a fishing dispute.

"Gibraltar would be better off not being a part of the EU," said Mr Dartmouth on Friday. He suggested there was a "permanent threat" to the region's ability to set its own tax rules if it remained in the EU. "One of the rationalisations of Gibraltar being in the EU is freedom of movement, but it's not happening," he said in reference to border control disputes with Spain.

This year, as well as the UK elections, Gibraltar will be watching the polls in Spain closely. The centre-right Partido Popular has in recent years taken a harder line on the territory, with Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, the foreign minister, declaring in August 2013 that "the party is over". Stringent border controls remain a constant irritant for local workers.

The notion of being cut off from the rest of Europe evokes difficult memories for many local people. In 1969, Francisco Franco, the Spanish dictator, closed the territory's border with Spain, which was not fully reopened until 1985. Gibraltarians, their narrow road to Europe sealed off, took to their boats instead.

"The only parties that have attempted to exclude us from continental Europe in the past have been located outside of the United Kingdom," Mr Picardo said.

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