Eduardo González
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, yesterday presented to the local and regional authorities of the Campo de Gibraltar the “global proposal” of Spain and the European Commission for the creation of a shared prosperity zone, which has already been sent to the United Kingdom and which includes, as the most controversial point, the Spanish control of the external borders of the colony “on behalf of Schengen”.
“Spain is already willing to reach an agreement, and now it is up to the United Kingdom to tell us if it is willing to reach an agreement now, because we can not be permanently in this situation,” said Albares at the press conference after his meeting with the president of the Commonwealth of Municipalities of Campo de Gibraltar, Juan Lozano, and with the mayors of eight municipalities in the region (Algeciras, La Línea de la Concepción, San Roque, Los Barrios, Tarifa, Castellar de la Frontera, Jimena de la Frontera and San Martín del Tesorillo), and the sub-delegate of the Andalusian Government, Javier Rodríguez Ros, among other authorities.
During the meeting, held at the headquarters of the Ministry in Marqués de Salamanca, Albares explained that the Government of Spain and the European Commission have already put on the table a “global proposal” whose objective is the establishment of “a new legal framework that lays the foundations for a stable relationship between Spain and the EU, on the one hand, and the territory of Gibraltar, through the United Kingdom, on the other”. These are “very reasonable technical and practical solutions, which are necessary for the construction of an area of shared prosperity and are respectful of our respective legal positions,” he continued.
Albares also noted that the Government “trusts and hopes that the negotiations will conclude with a satisfactory agreement as soon as possible.” “Whether the United Kingdom accepts it or not is not up to me, but in the spirit of the British authorities there is a desire to reach an agreement,” he assured. “Spain and the Commission will spare no effort to do so”, since the Government does not consider the possibility of “a scenario of no agreement”, he warned. In any case, the minister assured, “neither the future agreement, nor any action or measure taken in application or as a result of it, will imply any renunciation or modification of Spain’s legal position with respect to sovereignty and jurisdiction in relation to Gibraltar”.
The proposal
As for the content of the overall proposal, Albares reported that the text includes provisions on the mobility of persons with the objective of the abolition of the fence and to ensure the full fluidity of the transit of persons. This requires, as reported by the Ministry in a press release, that “Spain will control, on behalf of Schengen, the external borders of Gibraltar and, to this end, may exercise certain functions and powers necessary to protect the integrity and security of the Schengen area”.
London and Gibraltar have already warned that they flatly oppose the possibility that the control and surveillance of the external borders of the Schengen area be established in the port, airport and waters of Gibraltar and that they be carried out by Spain – in application of current EU rules – as contained in the mandate for negotiations approved in July 2021 by the European Commission. To try to avoid this pitfall, Spain has accepted the possibility of requesting the collaboration of the European Agency for Borders and Coasts (Frontex) to control the port and the airport of the Rock, as it appears in the pre-agreement signed on December 31, 2020 by Madrid and London to prevent an abrupt exit from the colony as of January 1, 2021.
On the other hand, the Spanish “global proposal” provides for the protection and improvement of the rights of workers and beneficiaries of social benefits in Gibraltar and proposes, in customs matters, to guarantee the free movement of goods between the EU and Gibraltar, without increasing the risks for the EU internal market, particularly for economic operators in the area in terms of unfair competition or illicit trafficking, such as, for example, tobacco. As in the case of persons, according to the Foreign Office, “this will require Spain, on behalf of the EU, to exercise control and protection functions of the internal market, as customs controls between Spain and Gibraltar will disappear”.
The conditions of fair and loyal competition are also preserved, so that the economic operators in Gibraltar compete under similar conditions to those of the rest of the economic operators in the EU and, in particular, in the area of Campo de Gibraltar. The text also includes provisions to combat money laundering, to ensure high standards of environmental protection and nuclear safety protection “in order to provide maximum safeguards against potential environmental damage affecting the whole area”. It also provides for measures to prevent unfair economic competition and a financial mechanism for training and employment programs in the area. The idea is to create “equivalent rules of the game on both sides so that the prosperity of some is not to the detriment of the prosperity of others, because that is what shared prosperity is all about”, explained Albares at the press conference.
Apart from that, the minister reiterated before the mayors and the Commonwealth the “firm commitment” of the Government with the Campo de Gibraltar and recalled that, through the different Ministries, the Government develops the master lines of action designed in the Comprehensive Plan for the Campo de Gibraltar, approved by the Council of Ministers in November 2018.
Landaluce: “I am not optimistic at all”
In this regard, the mayor of Algeciras, and senator for the PP, José Ignacio Landaluce, lamented at the press conference the delays in the fulfillment of the Integral Plan, which “approved the Government four years ago”. “The Minister of the Presidency (Felix Bolaños) says that 75% has already been fulfilled, but unfortunately it is not true; the security part has been fulfilled, the Interior, but the rest has been unfulfilled for four years,” he said. He also denounced the dumping of untreated water in the Bay of Algeciras (“Gibraltar has the third highest per capita income in the world but does not spend money to purify its waters”) and demanded that border control on behalf of Frontex be carried out by “the National Police and the Civil Guard, with the Spanish flag and identification plates”, because the mission of Frontex is “to support the country responsible for control on behalf of the EU, which is Spain”.
Regarding the expectations that an agreement will be reached, Landaluce resorted to a metaphor: “In Gibraltar spread the toast on both sides, because they have the advantages of being in the EU and the advantages of not being in the EU, and they are the ones who eat the toast.” “The minister is optimistic from the beginning, but in the Campo de Gibraltar we go day by day and hear what they say in Gibraltar,” he continued. “They are comfortable as they are, they have it all, inside and outside,” he added. “EU and Spain must put pressure on the UK to reach an agreement once and for all, but I am not at all optimistic that this agreement will be signed,” he admitted.
For his part, Juan Lozano showed his “satisfaction” for the meeting with Albares but acknowledged that “there will always be concern until there is no signed agreement.” “We have conveyed to him our concern if there is no agreement, because of what it would mean for thousands of workers and companies,” he explained. However, “I leave convinced that it is possible, I do not want to stay with the negative part,” he said. “We want to fulfill the Comprehensive Plan for the Campo de Gibraltar and we have moved the minister to move it to the other ministers,” he added.
The mayor of La Línea de la Concepción, José Juan Franco Rodríguez, was also “optimistic” and expressed his desire that “sanity reigns and there is a satisfactory agreement” because “we have spent six years negotiating and it is clear that there will come a time when the European Commission says that we have come this far.” He also showed his “bitter complaint” about the lack of aid to La Línea de la Concepción, “the only municipality in continental Europe bordering the Brexit”. “The Brexit referendum was in June 2016 and none of the General State Budget approved since then includes a specific item for the municipality of La Línea,” he stated.
Likewise, the mayor San Roque San Roque and president of the Provincial Council of Cadiz, Juan Carlos Ruiz Boix, was also “optimistic” about the signing of the agreement and called for “courageous, innovative and cutting-edge decisions to make the prosperity zone a reality” and for “the 12,000 or 13,000 cross-border employees to have the same conditions and the same retirement as any employee in Gibraltar doing the same job.”
Elliott and Picardo announce new negotiations at the end of the month
For his part, the British ambassador in Madrid, Hugh Elliott, told the Gibraltarian television channel GBC yesterday that a new round of negotiations on the EU-UK treaty regarding Gibraltar is scheduled for the end of this month and assured that “a scenario of no agreement” is not being considered because “all parties” are very committed and “good progress” is being made. According to the ambassador, the zone of shared prosperity “is not a slogan, but a very real objective”.
A spokesman for the British Embassy in Madrid told Europa Press yesterday that the London Government considers it feasible to conclude an agreement with the EU on Gibraltar, but this requires “flexibility on all sides”. “Both the UK and the EU have presented texts throughout the negotiations,” said the spokesman. The British government “is confident that with flexibility on all sides an agreement can be found that works for the whole region,” he added. In any case, he warned, the UK will not sign any agreement that “compromises UK sovereignty” over the Rock.
For his part, the chief minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, said yesterday before the Parliament of the colony, in specific reference to the meeting of Albares with the mayors of Campo de Gibraltar, that “the United Kingdom and Gibraltar also have proposals on the table that are intended to benefit the population of the whole area” and that provide for “the removal of trade barriers and the protection of the integrity of the Single Market so as not to compromise our interests in tax matters or on sovereignty in general”.
“Our proposals also address the issue of people’s rights for a fluid border,” he continued. “This is achieved in line with the provisions already agreed in 2020 and taking into account the EU’s concerns regarding the protection of the integrity of the Schengen Area,” he added, without further details.
Picardo also assured that the British and Gibraltarian proposals also identify “areas in which to improve cooperation for mutual benefit” and provide, “of course, for cross-border workers to continue to enjoy equal treatment with resident workers in terms of employment benefits.” “I therefore very much welcome José Manuel Albares’ statements that the Government of Pedro Sánchez is also working towards a positive outcome to the treaty negotiations,” he added.
In Picardo’s opinion, all parties want to “reach an agreement this year” for which it is necessary to conclude “the negotiation successfully and preserving the relevant and historical positions of all parties” (in a non-express reference to the sovereignty claims). “Fortunately, we are already working to reach an agreement and we have already set a new round of negotiations between the UK and the EU in London next week, on November 28-29,” he assured.
