Gibraltar deal now in UK hands, Spain tells the UK

The recent proposal for a shared prosperity zone in Gibraltar, put forward by Spain and the European Commission, now needs the UK’s acceptance, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said Monday.

Located at the southern tip of the Iberian Penninsula, Gibraltar is a British Overseas Territory, subject to a territorial claim by Spain. The British seized it in the 1700s, and despite multiple spats in the years since, in 2000, the parliament of Gibraltar signed a declaration of unity stating they would never give up their right to self-determination up and that “Gibraltar belongs to the people of Gibraltar and is neither Spain’s to claim, nor Britain’s to give.”

The status of Gibraltar was subject to more uncertainty following the UK’s exit from the EU in 2021.

“We put a global agreement on the table to build a shared prosperity zone between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar – in Spain,” Albares (PSOE/S&D) told the press in the Spanish city of Córdoba (Andalusia, south), EURACTIV’s partner EFE reported.

“For there to be an agreement, not only is there the Spanish proposal but there has to be the acceptance of the United Kingdom, so the ball is in the UK’s court”, Albares reiterated.

The proposal, sent to London by Spain and the European Commission in November 2022, aims to establish a new legal framework that lays the foundations for a stable relationship between Spain and the European Union, on the one hand, and the territory of Gibraltar, through the UK, on the other, in a post-Brexit world.

Under such a legal framework, according to the Commission and Spain, Spain must take control of the external borders in Gibraltar and exercise certain functions for the security of the Schengen area.

At the same time, there is a need to guarantee the free movement of goods between the EU and Gibraltar without increasing the risks to the EU internal market.

In a telephone call on 4 May, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (PSOE/S&D) and his British counterpart, Rishi Sunak, agreed on the need to reach an agreement “as soon as possible” on the matter.

Constructive spirit and dialogue with London

“In principle, the constructive spirit of the United Kingdom is also to build this area of shared prosperity”, said Albares.

Taking this “constructive spirit” into account, the minister expressed his hope that “it will be as soon as possible (an agreement with London)”. “We are ready for an agreement, but for there to be an agreement, two are needed”.

Spain and the United Kingdom have been negotiating an agreement that will govern the EU’s relations with Gibraltar following Brexit since a pre-agreement was reached at the end of December 2020, within hours of the UK official withdrawing from the bloc.

An agreement-in-principle was struck between the UK and Spain late last year, whereby “maximised and unrestricted mobility of persons between Gibraltar and the Schengen area”, the removal of the fence at the land border and relocation of customs checks to Gibraltar’s airport and port, will be conditioned by the presence of Spanish and Gibraltarian police at entry points and overseen by Frontex, the EU’s border agency, for four years, EURACTIV.com reported.

Gibraltar and the Spanish elections

According to reports by Spanish media, the Spain-Gibraltar border (known by “la verja”/the fence) is crossed every day by some 15,000 workers, most of them of Spanish. Other sources say the figure is close to 30,000.

In the meantime, relations between Spain and Gibraltar have been operating on ad hoc arrangements, and there is no hard deadline by which an agreement on a new treaty must be reached.

Spain will hold regional and municipal elections on 28 May, with a general election expected to take place in December, during the country’s final month of presidency of the EU Council.

Centre-right Popular Party (PP/EPP), the main opposition force, and the far-right party VOX (ECR) follow a “hardline” on the Gibraltar “hot potato”, compared with the moderate tone of the ruling socialist party (PSOE/S&D). On many occasions, VOX has advocated for closing the border with Gibraltar.

(Fernando Heller | EuroEFE.EURACTIV.es)