Eduardo González
The European Commission yesterday approved the mandate for negotiations with the United Kingdom on the future status of Gibraltar, whose basis is the pre-agreement signed by Spain and the United Kingdom last December 31. Once the news was known, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, announced that he will travel today to London to address this issue with his British counterpart, Dominic Raab. Both the UK and Gibraltar rejected the text, saying it cannot “form the basis of an agreement”.
The mandate approved yesterday by Brussels establishes that “the control and surveillance” of the external borders of the Schengen zone will be established “in the port, airport and waters of Gibraltar and will be carried out by Spain, in application of the EU rules in force”. Therefore, it continues, “the Spanish border guards will have all the necessary powers to carry out border checks and surveillance and to comply with the ensuing obligations”, the text continues.
However, the mandate recalls that Spain has already expressed its wish to request the collaboration of the European Agency for Borders and Coasts (Frontex) to control the port and airport of the Rock, as the Spanish and British governments had agreed in the New Year’s Eve pre-agreement in view of the refusal of the Gibraltarian authorities to accept the presence of Spanish forces in their territory. Therefore, the work of control and surveillance will correspond to Frontex during a transitional period of four years, while the Spanish agents will be located in premises not installed on Gibraltarian soil, but with control over the people who want to access Spain and, consequently, the Schengen area.
This detail became the main point of friction between all the actors involved, not only between Gibraltar and the United Kingdom, on the one hand, and Spain, on the other, but also between the Spanish Government and the opposition. Since the agreement in principle was reached, the Spanish authorities have insisted at all times that Spain would have the last word on access to the Schengen area, while Dominic Raab and Fabian Picardo assured last March that Spanish agents would not exercise any control at the border posts of the Gibraltarian territory.
The mandate also provides for the elimination of “existing physical structures” that impede the free movement of people and goods (specifically, the Fence), but warns that Gibraltar “will not become part of Schengen or the customs union” and that its inhabitants will remain “third-country nationals for the purposes of Union law”, although they may “access the Schengen area without a visa for a maximum period of 90 days” and will be “exempt from passport stamping, EU entry and exit controls and prior travel authorization”.
The mandate will still have to pass the EU Council’s approval before the Commission can start negotiating with London. The final agreement is expected to be signed by the end of this year and controls could be lifted in 2022. If so, the process would be half a year ahead of what Spain and the UK had planned. The negotiations between the EU and the UK on Gibraltar have been carried out outside the Trade and Cooperation Agreement reached between London and Brussels on December 24, 2020 to define their relations after Brexit. Under the commitment of Brussels with Madrid, any future agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom regarding Gibraltar will require the prior consent of Spain.
Albares travels to London and Gibraltar rejects the mandate
Precisely, the Spanish Government issued yesterday a statement in which “thanks and appreciates the effort made by the European Commission in approving a proposal for a mandate adapted to the understanding between Spain and the United Kingdom reached last December 31″.
Also, José Manuel Albares will travel today to London to meet with Raab “the day after the presentation by the European Commission of the draft mandate for negotiations on Gibraltar”, the Ministry reported yesterday. “After the British exit from the EU, the visit will be a good opportunity to address the implementation of the Trade and Cooperation Agreement and the Withdrawal Agreement, as well as the negotiation that will soon be opened between the British Government and the European Commission on Gibraltar, in which Spain’s priority is to reach an agreement that ensures the shared prosperity of the entire Campo de Gibraltar”, continued the Department of Albares in a press release.
The renewal by both ministers of three of the four bilateral Memoranda of Understanding between Spain and the United Kingdom relating to Gibraltar (Police and Customs Cooperation, Cooperation on Environmental Matters and on Tobacco and Other Products, all made in Madrid and London in November 2018) is also planned. The validity of these memoranda had lapsed last December 31, 2020, following the end of the transitional period provided for in the United Kingdom’s Withdrawal Agreement from the European Union. The fourth Memorandum of Understanding on Citizens’ Rights has remained in force.
In any case, Albares will face UK opposition to the Commission’s mandate in London. Minister Raab warned yesterday that he would not accept a proposal that gives the Spanish authorities the ability to carry out border controls at the airport and port of the Rock.
The Foreign Office official considers that the text proposed by Brussels “undermines the UK’s sovereignty over Gibraltar and cannot be the basis for negotiations”. He stressed that this option does not follow the line of the interim agreement reached ‘in extremis’ by London and Madrid on 31 December last, the day before Brexit was consummated.
For its part, the Government of Gibraltar yesterday regretted that, “in many respects the mandate strays unhelpfully from the Framework Agreement agreed by the UK and Gibraltar with Spain on the 31st December last year ” and, as such, “may, unfortunately, notform the basis for the negotiation of an agreement on a UK treaty with the EU”. “We will continue to work with the government ofthe UnitedKingdom as we explore all possibilities. Additionally, we will also continue the work to be ready in the event that there may not be a negotiated outcome with the EU and that Gibraltar will not enjoy a treaty relationship with the EU going forward”. it continued.
“The draft EU mandate is a matter for them, of course”, Picardo stated. “But I must say that on the basis of the current draft, there is no possibility of this forming the basis for an agreement”, he continued. “We will work closely with the United Kingdom, especially Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, to continue to seek the best possible outcomes for Gibraltar”, he concluded.
