The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, addressed in a telephone conversation on Thursday the importance of closing an agreement on Gibraltar’s relationship with the European Union (EU) “as soon as possible.” after Brexit.
A spokesperson from Downing Street, the official residence of the British head of government, reported on the conversation, and La Moncloa later confirmed it. The Spanish government rarely reports on Sánchez’s call schedule, so the other party usually finds out beforehand.
The conversation has thus had a clear political relevance because Spain and the United Kingdom have been negotiating a solution for Gibraltar for months, much more urgent now after Brexit, and the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has insisted on several occasions that he is ” very close” to the agreement, although he also repeats the classic phrase of diplomacy that “nothing is closed until everything is closed”. The fact that Sánchez and Sunak spoke specifically about the matter by phone and agreed to a note stating that the agreement must be closed “as soon as possible” indicates that things are advanced. Sources from the Spanish Executive insist that the United Kingdom already has the latest proposal from Madrid and now it has to give an answer.
According to Downing Street, both leaders “agreed on the importance of advancing negotiations towards a UK-EU treaty.” La Moncloa, which points out that the call was made at the request of Sunak, agrees with the London version and points out that the two leaders “have reviewed the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries and the need to give the final steps in the negotiations on Gibraltar”. “Both leaders have agreed on the importance of reaching an agreement that is beneficial for shared prosperity in the area,” concludes the Spanish government.
According to La Moncloa, “Sánchez and Sunak have reviewed various issues on the international agenda. Both have reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal and unjustified aggression and have discussed President Zelensky’s peace plan. Likewise, they have talked about cooperation on issues such as energy security and the opportunity that Spain and the United Kingdom will have to deal with these and other issues within the framework of the upcoming meetings of the European Political Community”.
The United Kingdom and the European Commission have held a dozen rounds of negotiations to agree on the framework for relations between Gibraltar and the EU after the consummation of Brexit. Madrid and London already reached an agreement in principle at the end of December 2020, which was reflected in the so-called New Year’s Eve Pact, but this had to be developed into a binding treaty between the United Kingdom and the Union that began to be negotiated in October 2021, just over a year ago.
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The exit of the United Kingdom —and, therefore, also of Gibraltar— from the EU, was consummated on February 1, 2020. However, the relationship of the Rock with its surroundings has remained unchanged, as if it were still part of the Union. The European Commission has turned a blind eye, without installing the controls that correspond to an external border, waiting for the ongoing negotiations to conclude with an agreement that would allow the fence to be definitively demolished. The Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has recognized that this situation cannot be maintained indefinitely, but has excused himself, alleging that in none of the matters related to the Brexit deadlines have been met.
At the end of November, Albares summoned the mayors of Campo de Gibraltar to his cabinet headquarters to convey his optimism about the possibility of closing an agreement with the United Kingdom before the end of the year that involves the “physical elimination of the Gate ” and lays the foundations for a “space of shared prosperity” between the British colony and its environment. In an interview with EL PAÍS on November 26, the minister stressed that “if there is an extension [a Gibraltar] of Schengen [el espacio europeo sin fronteras] it is necessary that the Spanish police, which is responsible before Schengen, is the one that exercises these controls”; and that, “if there is to be an area of shared prosperity, there must be joint use of the airport.” Albares also told this newspaper in February about the new proposal on the new Statute of Gibraltar in the EU: “Every day that passes without the United Kingdom responding to that offer delays the creation of a zone of shared prosperity between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar. Spain has submitted that offer and the United Kingdom, by not accepting it, all it does is delay it. [Pero] yes there is progress. I see a constructive spirit on the part of the British authorities and we are very, very close to the agreement”.
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