Thorny question of sovereignty

Why all the fuss about the Rock?

Because 30,000 British citizens happen to live there and don't take kindly to being told that the 300 years of history since Sir George Rooke captured Gibraltar during the War of the Spanish Succession are about to be tipped into the Mediterranean.

As the colony's chief minister, Peter Caruana, puts it: "The overwhelming majority of Gibraltarians bear deeply and reasonably held grievances about the behaviour to which they have historically been subjected by Spain." Gibraltar has been a British dependency since 1713, when it was officially handed over in the Treaty of Utrecht.

What's on offer now?

According to Jack Straw, the Foreign Secretary, there is now broad agreement on shared sovereignty between Britain and Spain. But he promised that the Rock would keep its British traditions and that its English-speaking, pound-spending residents should retain the right to British nationality in addition to gaining the right to Spanish nationality. Furthermore, if a final agreement is reached with Spain, it would be put before the people of Gibraltar in a referendum.

What's the sticking point?

Quite a few. We don't know yet how long the joint sovereignty would last. Britain wants any deal to be final, but Spain has repeatedly said that its long-term goal is to recover total sovereignty.

Spain is also opposed to the Gibraltarians having any power of veto over a deal, and is thus strongly against holding a referendum. It fears a referendum could lead to demands for independence, thus setting a precedent that could leave it in a tricky situation in regard to the autonomous regions within Spain itself.

The British government also has its so-called "red lines", which mainly concern maintaining control over the military base on Gibraltar.

Last but not least, Gibraltarians themselves are strongly opposed to the concept of joint sovereignty – not to mention full Spanish sovereignty. The Gibraltar opposition leader, Joe Bossano, says that only a handful of people would vote for joint sovereignty – and they would be the ones living just across the border in Spain, who would be voting for an easier passage to work.