Gibraltar

The word "Gibraltar" is a Spanish version of the Arabic phrase "Jabal Tariq" ( Arabic. جبال طارق ), meaning "Mount Tariq." The name was given in honor of the Arab commander Tariq ibn Ziyad , who led the Arab invasion of the Iberian Peninsula ^[7] .

The dependent territory of Great Britain, located on a rocky stretch of the southern coast of the Iberian Peninsula near Cape Marroka - the southernmost point of the peninsula. In the north, it borders with Spain (the city of La Linea de la Concepcion ), actually entering the Algeciras agglomeration . In the east it is washed by the Mediterranean Sea, in the south - by the Strait of Gibraltar, separating Gibraltar from North Africa, in the west - by the Gulf of Gibraltar. The area of ​​Gibraltar is 6.5 km². The height of the cliff is 426 meters. Coordinates:

Gibraltar has a typical Mediterranean climate , with hot and arid summers, as well as mild and rainy winters.

The territory of Gibraltar was already populated in the Middle Paleolithic, as evidenced by the finds of Neanderthals ^[8] .

The history of Gibraltar (one of the legendary pillars of Hercules ) dates back more than 3,000 years. The name "Hercules Pillars" is still found in Plato . The Phoenicians and Carthaginians arranged ship parking in Gibraltar. During the Roman Empire, the rock was on its territory, and with its decline fell under the rule of Germanic tribes - vandals and Goths .

Gibraltar has long been in the possession of the Moors , who captured it from the Visigoths in 711. In 1462, during the Reconquista, he passed into the possession of Spain . In 1704, at sunset, the Spanish Empire was captured by an English squadron under the command of Admiral George Ruka . In 1713, according to the Utrecht Peace Treaty imposed by Spain by England and France, Gibraltar moved to Great Britain . The Spaniards unsuccessfully tried to take the fortress in 1727 during the Anglo-Spanish war , as well as the Spanish-French " great siege " (1779-1783). Under the Treaty of Versailles in 1783, the rock remained British possession.

In 1830, Gibraltar was officially declared a colony of Great Britain. Its importance increased even more after the opening in 1869 of the Suez Canal , which halved the way to Europe from India. The possession of a rock made it possible to control shipping in the Mediterranean ^[9] .

In 1940, at the beginning of World War II, Caudillo Francisco Franco , observing armed neutrality, rejected Hitler 's offer to seize British Gibraltar.

But when in 1954, on the 250th anniversary of the capture of Gibraltar, the colony was visited by the new Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II , the Spanish authorities closed their consulate and imposed restrictions on freedom of movement between Gibraltar and Spain.

In 1964, Gibraltar received its constitution. In the colony a parliament was created - the House of Assembly and a government was formed. In 1969, a new constitution was adopted, introducing full internal self-government.

In the mid-1960s, groups of supporters of joining Spain (“Palomos”) launched a protest campaign in the colony. However, in a referendum on September 10, 1967, the overwhelming majority of migrants (12,138 against 44) voted against the transfer of Spanish sovereignty. In response, the Spanish government closed the border between Spain and Gibraltar on June 9, 1969, declared a complete economic blockade of British possession, cut off telegraph and telephone communications and shipping, and prohibited Spanish citizens from working in Gibraltar. The situation softened only after the death of the Spanish dictator Francisco Franco in 1975 and the restoration of the monarchy.

Since then, the ongoing political struggle for the status of Gibraltar has continued. In 2004, residents first participated in the elections to the European Parliament . The territory was included in the constituency of South West England and the Conservative Party received 69.5% of the vote, dissatisfied with the concessions of British Labor on the fate of Gibraltar ^[10] .

In a 2016 referendum on Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, 96% of Gibraltarians voted to remain in the EU ^[11] .

On the territory of the constitution , adopted by referendum in 2006 ^[12] .

Legislative power belongs to the Queen of Great Britain Elizabeth II and the Parliament of Gibraltar (18 members, of which 17 are elected by the population for 4 years, and the speaker is appointed by resolution of Parliament) ^[13] .

In the parliamentary elections held on December 8, 2011, the alliance of the Socialist Labor and Liberal Parties won, having received a total of 48.88% of the vote and won 10 seats in parliament. The Social Democratic Party received 46.76% of the vote and 7 seats in parliament. The Progressive Democratic Party accounted for 4.36% of the vote and not a single seat in parliament.

Executive power : the head of state is Queen Elizabeth II (since February 1952), who is represented by the governor.

Judicial branch : Supreme Court; Court of Appeal.

Political Parties : The Socialist Labor Party of Gibraltar (leader Fabian Picardo); The Social Democratic Party of Gibraltar (leader Peter Caruana); Liberal Party (leader Joseph Garcia); Progressive Democratic Party (leader Keith Azopardi).

The head of government is the Chief Minister Fabian Picardo (in office since 2011).

There is also a ceremonial post of mayor of Gibraltar , which since April 5, 2017 has been held by Miss World 2009 Kayane Aldorino ^[14] .

One source of the controversy is the lack of appropriate definitions of what Spain has actually ceded to Britain. The Utrecht Treaty does not contain maps or specific descriptions of the territories received by the British Crown, which allows each party to interpret Article X of this treaty in its own way, according to which the United Kingdom owns the city and castle of Gibraltar along with the port, fortifications and forts ^[15] .

Spain does not recognize British sovereignty over Gibraltar, believing that Great Britain owns only the fortified perimeter of the city, and the agreement does not apply to other territories. Thus, from the point of view of Madrid, this area was illegally occupied by Great Britain in 1815, when British barracks began to be erected on the isthmus, which "contradicts the principles of international law ." Later, in 1938, while there was a civil war in Spain, Britain built an airport in the disputed territories. Since Spain considers the Isthmus of Gibraltar to be illegally occupied, Spanish official documentation always uses the term “fence” ( Spanish verja ) instead of the word “border”, since Madrid does not recognize the possibility of a border on its territory. Historically, however, this place is often referred to as the “Frontier”, for example, in official documents during the reign of Francisco Franco ^[15] .

The United Kingdom, in turn, relies on the fact that it owns the territory of the southern part of the isthmus of de facto , and the fact that there is "continuous possession of the isthmus for a long period." Although London rejects the basis for a dispute with Madrid over its sovereignty over the isthmus, at the same time, Great Britain recognizes the fact of a territorial dispute with Spain, in particular in a joint British-Spanish declaration on the use of the Gibraltar airport on December 2, 1987, as well as several EU acts ^[15] .

The authorities of Gibraltar, seeking their participation in the negotiations between London and Madrid, reject the arguments of Spain, believing that they have the right to control the entire area, along the border of which stood the forts of Torre del Diablo (Devil's Tower) and El Molino, transferred to Britain under the Utrecht Treaty. In addition, in their opinion, according to the international practice of the 18th century, all territorial concessions took place taking into account the surrounding area, equivalent to the length of two cannon shots. As early as the beginning of the eighteenth century, a debate arose about how far “doubtless right” Great Britain extended to the north from Gibraltar. As a result, at the conclusion of the Seville Treaty between England, France and Spain in 1729, it was decided to consider that the “undoubted right” of Britain extends to the distance of two cannon shots between the British and Spanish fortifications, and this territory was considered as “neutral” ^[15] .

At present, the Spanish side of the neutral territory is actively developing and building up ^[15] .

The population for 1998 was 27,025 people, and according to 2012 data, 30,001 ^[2] ; the average population density is 4,615.54 people per km² (one of the most densely populated territories in the world). The problem of acute shortage of territory is solved mainly by draining the adjacent sea coast. Ethnic groups: formerly Jews ^[16] , Portuguese , Italians , Maltese , Spaniards (325 people), British . Recently, a significant proportion of the population is made up of recent legal and illegal migrants - Indians , Pakistanis , Arabs - Moroccans (961 people), Africans. Language: English (State), Spanish, Italian, Portuguese. Religion: Catholics - 70%, Muslims - 10%, Anglicans - 8%, Jews - 1%.

The official language is English . Spoken - Yanito , which is the spoken mixed language of the territory of Gibraltar, based mainly on the Andalusian dialect of the Spanish language with strong interference of the English language, which is official, and the lexical influence of many other languages ​​( Italian , Maltese , Arabic , Hebrew , etc.) .

According to the results of 2012, Gibraltar's GDP amounted to $ 1.887 billion, having increased by 7.8% over the year ^[3] . GDP per capita in 2013 reached $ 64,478 ^[3] . Most of the GDP is generated by the service sector , agriculture in Gibraltar does not exist, industry is represented by ship repair and tobacco enterprises. The main sectors of the economy are tourism , banking and finance , ship repair and production of tobacco products ^[17] .

The overseas territory of Great Britain, Gibraltar, is part of the European Union and at the same time has a separate jurisdiction and tax system from the United Kingdom, which was confirmed by a decision of the European Court of December 2008 ^[18] . The economy of modern Gibraltar is based mainly on shipping services, in particular bunkering , tourism, including international conferences, financial services (20% of GDP), and the Internet industry ^[19] . In 2010, electricity production (using mineral fuel 100%) amounted to 166.4 million kWh per year, electricity consumption - 154.7 million kWh per year ^[17] .

The financial sector, including offshore banking , provides Gibraltar with 20% of GDP. Significant revenues are brought to the country by fees for shipping services, including refueling ships with fuel and motor oils, which account for most of the port of Gibraltar, which is one of the largest bunker ports in the Mediterranean Sea. In 2007, 10,350 vessels visited the port of Hybrid, of which 6181 used the bunkering service, loading 4.2 million tons ^[20] . The country is visited by up to 10 million tourists a year ^[19] . The role of the UK Department of Defense , whose activities have long been Gibraltar's main source of revenue, has declined significantly - from 60% of GDP in 1984 to 6% in the 2000s.

In 2006, inflation ( CPI ) was 2.6%.

In 2001, the total labor force, including non-hybrid residents, was 12,690 people, of which 60% were employed in the service sector and 40% in industry. In 2005, the unemployment rate was 3% ^[17] .

The total length of the roads is 29 km (fully covered, 2007). There are no waterways or pipelines. The Navy - 267 marine vessels, including 146 cargo, 64 chemical carriers, 28 container ships and 14 oil tankers. Gibraltar's “ convenient flag ” runs 254 vessels owned by owners from other countries, including 123 shipowners from Germany, 46 from Norway and 34 from the Netherlands ^[17] . There is an airport , the length of the concrete runway is 1628 m. The runway crosses the highway with fairly heavy traffic; during takeoffs and landings of aircraft, traffic is blocked by barriers ^[21] .

In Gibraltar, in 2012, 23.1 thousand telephone lines operated and there were 34.75 thousand mobile subscribers. In 2009, there were 20.2 thousand Internet users. International communication is provided by radiotelephone and radio relay lines. There is one Intelsat satellite ground station for communications across the Atlantic . There are 1 broadcasting station and 4 broadcasting stations of the Gibraltar Broadcasting Corporation (GBC), as well as 1 radio station of the Broadcasting Service of the Armed Forces of Great Britain (British Forces Broadcasting Service, BFBS) ^[17] .

The state budget for the fiscal 2014/2015: revenues - 547 million pounds , expenses - 512 million pounds, current surplus - 34 million pounds ^[22] . Government debt in 2005 was estimated at 15.7% of GDP.

Export in 2004 was estimated at $ 271 million. Exported: liquid fuel (mainly re-export) - 51%, finished products - 41%, other items - 8%. Партнёры по экспорту: Великобритания, Марокко , Португалия , Нидерланды , Испания, США, Германия . Импорт в 2004 году оценивался в $ 2,967 млрд. Основные статьи импорта: жидкое топливо, готовые изделия, продукты питания ^[17] . Главные партнёры по импорту: Великобритания, Испания, Япония , Нидерланды.

Численность населения, проживающего ниже черты бедности, ничтожна.

18 декабря 2008 Суд первой инстанции ЕС по объединённым делам Т-211/04 и Т-215/04 «Правительство Гибралтара и Соединённое Королевство Великобритании и Северной Ирландии против Комиссии» принял решение об отмене решения Комиссии ЕС 2005/261/EC от 30.03.2004 «О схеме [государственной] помощи, которую Соединённое Королевство планирует имплементировать в отношении Реформы корпоративного налога Правительством Гибралтара» (OJ 2005 L 85, стр. 1). Оно разрешает Гибралтару устанавливать собственные налоги, отличные от Великобритании ^[23] .

С 2011 года в Гибралтаре прекратили своё существование освобождённые компании. Действующая ставка корпоративного налога с 1 июля 2009 года снижена до 10 %, что вполне позволит ему конкурировать с Ирландией, а возможно, и с Кипром, в отличие от которого у Гибралтара нет обязательств перед Россией в сфере налогового сотрудничества.

Гибралтар является одним из государств в Европейском союзе, в котором не взимается НДС.

Налоговая система Гибралтара практически идентична налоговой системе Гонконга .

Гибралтар — единственное место в Европе , где в естественных условиях дикой природы живут полудикие обезьяны — маготы . По местному поверью, Гибралтар будет британским до тех пор, пока жива хоть одна обезьяна ^[24] (см. Колония маготов на Гибралтаре ).

Еженедельная правительственная газета — «Гибралтар газетт». Наиболее тиражная (7 тыс. экземпляров) ежедневная газета — « Гибралтар кроникл ».

• Трафальгарское кладбище
• Флора Гибралтара
• « Хиль Бралтар »

• Интерактивная карта Гибралтара .
• Официальный сайт законодательства Гибралтара
• Официальный сайт Правительства Гибралтара
• Винокуров Е. Теория анклавов . — Калининград : Terra Baltica, 2007. — С. 265. — 342 с. - 1000 copies. — ISBN 978-5-98777-015-3 .
• Дополнительные материалы и таблицы к книге
• Дамье В. В. Гибралтар // Кругосвет