Albares cools the agreement on Gibraltar and says that we will have to wait for the new British Executive

The “last push” to reach an agreement on post-Brexit Gibraltar is postponed again. The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, assumed this Monday that there will be no agreement until the new British Executive is formed, which will come out of the polls on July 4. The electoral advance spread the fear that the negotiations between Spain and the United Kingdom, which are in their final stretch, would be put on hold; and, although the chief minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, still saw a signature as feasible before the elections, Albares has definitively ruled it out. “The technical negotiations continue and as soon as the new Government is in charge I will meet with my new colleague to give that last push that, at least on the Spanish side, we want from the first moment, and that I am sure will be beneficial for Gibraltar. and for the Campo de Gibraltar.”

The Foreign Minister, who appeared at a press conference with his Egyptian counterpart, Sameh Shoukry, will meet tomorrow Tuesday with the mayors of Campo de Gibraltar to continue advancing the “technical work”, but without prospects of a definitive closure. imminent. If this agreement occurs later, its ratification by the new European Parliament that comes out of the polls this weekend will still be pending. And, depending on whether the final text affects shared powers, it is not ruled out that the support of the 27 national parliaments will be necessary.

Negotiations to determine what the status of the British colony of Gibraltar will be after the United Kingdom leaves the EU have been dragging on for two and a half years and, although “remarkable progress” has been announced, they have not yet been concluded. A few weeks ago there was a certain optimism that a text could be signed before the European elections, but on May 16 it deflated again. That day, Albares traveled to Brussels to sit with his British counterpart, David Cameron, as well as with Fabian Picardo and the vice president of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, but, after six hours of meeting, they could not announce more than a “shared intention.” to reach the pact on the British colony, without setting deadlines. No details of the discrepancies have been given either, although Albares has already stated that he does not see “obstacles” that would prevent the signing. “There is no matter in which any of the parties rejects, excludes or has direct opposition to reaching an agreement on some aspects,” said the minister in Brussels.

But the agreement on Gibraltar affects, even tangentially, the issue of sovereignty, a very sensitive issue for the United Kingdom and Spain and one that involves a constant tug of war. The key decision to tear down the fence that separates the Rock from La Línea de la Concepción (Cádiz), to allow the passage of people and goods, forces controls to be imposed at the port and the airport. And that has made the role that Frontex agents, the European border agency, and those of the Spanish security forces and bodies will have crucial in controlling passengers arriving in Gibraltar from third countries. Also key is the joint use of the airport, built on an isthmus whose ownership is claimed by Madrid and London.

The future treaty will contemplate issues related to workers’ rights, fiscal and tax harmonization, which affect products such as tobacco, safety, the environment and the equalization of the pensions of Gibraltarians (about 465 euros higher on average) with that of cross-border employees in the Rock.

_