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GIBRALTAR'S EC STATUS AND IN PARTICULAR ITS EXCLUSION FROM THE CUSTOMS UNION. HE HAD HOWEVER BEEN TOLD THAT TO RE-OPEN THE ISSUE MIGHT PUT INTO QUESTION GIBRALTAR'S WHOLE RELATIONSHIP WITH THE COMMUNITY. HE HAD THEREFORE BEEN ASTONISHED RECENTLY TO DISCOVER THAT ANDORRA HAD BEEN ADMITTED TO THE CUSTOMS UNION ON VERY FAVOURABLE TERMS. NOBODY HAD BROUGHT THIS TO HIS NOTICE. HE ALSO MENTIONED AN ASSURANCE GIVEN TO THE PREVIOUS GIBRALTAR GOVERNMENT DURING THE SPANISH ACCESSION NEGOTIATIONS THAT HMG PRESERVE THE RIGHT TO OBTAIN FOR GIBRALTAR WHAT SPAIN WAS SEEKING TO ACHIEVE FOR CEUTA AND MELILLA. THE PRESENT ARRANGEMENTS, WHICH WERE ONCE OF BENEFIT TO GIBRALTAR, MIGHT NO LONGER BE. WITH THE EMERGENCE OF A SMALL MANUFACTURING BASE, AND WITH OTHER CHANGES IN THE ECONOMY, THEY NEEDED TO BE LOOKED AT AGAIN.
5. IN REPLY MR GAREL-JONES SAID THAT WE WOULD TAKE A LOOK AT THE TERMS OF THE PRESENT ARRANGEMENTS BUT ANY CHANGE IN GIBRALTAR'S STATUS WITHIN THE COMMUNITY WOULD REQUIRE THE AGREEMENT OF OTHER MEMBER STATES. FOR OBVIOUS REASONS WE SHOULD AVOID BRINGING GIBRALTAR BACK TO CENTRE STAGE OF THE COMMUNITY. WE REMINDED BOSSANO THAT A 1988 STUDY CONCLUDED THAT, AT THAT TIME, IT WOULD NOT HAVE BEEN IN GIBRALTAR'S ECONOMIC INTERESTS TO CHANGE HER EC STATUS. MR GAREL-JONES AGREED THAT THE NEXT STEP WOULD BE TO FOR THE FCO TO PRODUCE A PAPER COVERING A) THE LEGAL POSITION, AND B) AN ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF THE OPTIONS FOR CHANGING GIBRALTAR'S RELATIONSHIP WITH THE EC, THE
MATTER SHOULD BE EXAMINED CAREFULLY WITH THE GIBRALTAR GOVERNMENT BEFORE BRUSSELS OR THE SPANIARDS BECAME INVOLVED.
6.
BOSSANO SAID THAT, IN DISCUSSION WITH FITCHEW, DOUBTS HAD ARISEN OVER THE COMPETENT AUTHORITY IN GIBRALTAR FOR IMPLEMENTING CHANGES TO THE BANKING LAW. SHEINWALD SAID THAT WE RECOGNISED THAT IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SECOND BANKING DIRECTIVE WOULD BE A MAJOR EXERCISE IN GIBRALTAR. IT WAS, HOWEVER, IMPORTANT THAT IT WAS IMPLEMENTED PROPERLY AND WE WOULD BE HAPPY TO ARRANGE DISCUSSIONS ON IMPLEMENTATION BETWEEN OUR BANKING EXPERTS AND GIBRALTAR'S. MR GAREL-JONES ADDED THAT IT WAS CRUCIAL TO GIBRALTAR'S REPUTATION THAT THESE DIRECTIVES WERE IMPLEMENTED SOON.'
7. ON THE GENERAL QUESTION OF THE IMPLEMENTATION OF EC DIRECTIVES, BOSSANO CONFIRMED THAT HE HOPED THE BACKLOG WOULD BE CLEARED BY THE END OF THE YEAR. THE BULK OF COMMUNITY LEGISLATION POSED FEW DIFFICULTIES FOR GIBRALTAR, ALTHOUGH SOME SPECIFIC PROBLEMS EXISTED. HE GAVE THE EXAMPLE OF FOOD LABELLING.
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