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absolute British control over air communications with Gibraltar,
which would leave us with responsibilities but with no sure
means of exercising them.
It must also
9. A complete solution must involve transfer of sovereignty to Spain over the Isthmus and the Rock alike. contain absolute safeguards for the Gibraltarians. also preserve the continued and unhindered use of our defence
facilities.
It should
10. I attach a paper outlining what such a solution might comprise. I believe that a package on these lines could enable us to satisfy the aspirations of the Spaniards to regain sovereignty over Gibraltar, while at the same time effectively guaranteeing the continuation of the status quo in practice at Gibraltar for as long as we and the Gibraltarians wished. Although these proposals would not be likely to be accepted by the Spanish Government as they stand, they would represent a constructive British contribution towards a solution, worthy
of study in Madrid. The ball would then be firmly in the
Spanish court.
11.
The
if we cannot convince the Spaniards that we really desire to negotiate a solution the consequences could be expected to be rather more damaging to Gibraltar than to Britain. Spaniards could embark on further measures intensifying their restrictions on the Rock. Of these the most serious would
be those on air, sea and other communications; though there could be others, e.g. denying access to Spain to Gibraltar passport holders even via Tangier, which would further increase the claustrophobic conditions of the Rock.
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