The Diplomat
The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has made it clear that both Spain and the EU are prepared in case an agreement cannot be reached with the United Kingdom on the future relationship with Gibraltar, stressing that it is now London that has the last word.
In an interview with Europa Press, Albares once again stressed the urgency for London and Brussels to successfully conclude the negotiations for the new agreement that aims to cover the relationship with the Rock after Brexit.
The minister recalled that it is two years since the “agreement in principle” was signed between Spain and the United Kingdom on 31 December 2020, on which the negotiations now being held between Brussels and London are based and which ultimately seeks to create a shared prosperity area between the Rock and the Campo de Gibraltar.
This means that “we have spent two years negotiating what was already more or less established and it has been many years since Brexit”, he stressed. “We find ourselves in this situation for a sovereign and legitimate reason, which Spain respects”, as was the referendum of June 2016 by which the British decided to leave the EU, he said.
In this sense, Albares has claimed that Spain and the EU have put “on the table a global, reasonable and balanced agreement, so that there can be this area of shared prosperity throughout the Campo de Gibraltar”.
“Obviously we cannot be in this situation forever, the UK has to say clearly whether it wants this agreement, which is global and touches on all aspects of the relationship between Spain and the UK with regard to Gibraltar, or whether it does not want it”, he summarised, in line with the position he has been maintaining in recent weeks and which he also expressed during the visit of his British counterpart, James Cleverly, on 14 December.
“In that case, we will obviously have to take another decision”, he acknowledged, without wanting to go into deadlines after being asked how long negotiations could continue. “Spain does not want a scenario of ‘no agreement'”, he assured, hence the fact that he has put forward this proposal, which he made clear that the government is willing to “sign tomorrow”.
But he also warned that “the Spanish Government and the EU, which is ultimately the one that will make the agreement with the UK, are prepared for any scenario”, including that of not achieving a satisfactory result, just as the Gibraltarian and British governments have already made known, even carrying out a simulation a few weeks ago of what would happen in practical terms.
Nevertheless, he has assured that he observes “a constructive attitude on the other side, as Spain has had from the beginning” to reach this agreement, something that was also evident after his meeting with Cleverly, in which both showed their firm will to successfully conclude the negotiation.
With regard to the proposal on the table, he insisted that it proposes “reasonable solutions” to the main issues. Thus, he recalled, “the disappearance of the fence is envisaged, because what we want is maximum fluidity in the movement of people”, as well as the “joint use of the airport because what we want is to be able to benefit the people” in the area as much as possible.
The aim is also to ensure that “there is a balance in the conditions” on both sides “in terms of taxation, that there can be a flow of goods without there being a distortion of competition in the single market or without illicit trafficking, especially in tobacco”, among other issues.
The RAN with Morocco, as planned
On the other hand, the minister confirmed that the plans for the expected High Level Meeting with Morocco, the first since 2015, to be held in the last week of January or the first week of February, as announced by the Moroccan Foreign Minister, Naser Burita, are still on schedule.
The summit “will give new impetus to a bilateral relationship that is extraordinarily beneficial for both”, he claimed, emphasising that trade between the two countries has increased by almost 30% this year and that the arrival of immigrants from Morocco has decreased, this being the only European migratory route to do so.
He also confirmed that the intention is to reopen the customs office in Melilla and open the new one in Ceuta before the summit, as already indicated during the meeting with Burita on 24 November in Barcelona. As the minister explained, the will of the two countries is that “it should be an orderly and gradual opening”.
“There are images of the past that we do not want to see again”, he stressed, ruling out the reappearance of so-called “atypical trade”. The idea, the minister explained, is to act as has been done with the passage of people. “It has to be a gradual opening precisely so as not to fall back into the mistakes of the past”, he remarked.
The land borders with Morocco reopened on 15 May, although only to European Union citizens and those with a permit to travel in Schengen territory. From 31 May, a second phase began, allowing access to “legally recognised cross-border workers”, without the situation having been resolved for the rest of Moroccans.
Outstretched hand to Algeria
As for Algeria, the minister insisted that the government maintains “an outstretched hand” and trusts that the relationship can be redirected, given the friendship between the two peoples. Spain wants a relationship like the one it has with its other neighbours, “based on mutual respect, mutual benefit, non-interference in internal affairs and guided by friendship”.
Albares stressed that Algeria is a “reliable supplier that always respects its international contracts” as far as gas is concerned, and has demonstrated this after the outbreak of the diplomatic crisis last March, but acknowledged that “there are still commercial operations that remain blocked” between the two countries as a result of Algiers’ decision to suspend the Treaty of Friendship in June.
“Spain has done nothing to block these commercial operations”, said the minister, who immediately travelled to Brussels after Algiers’ decision to ask for the support of the European Commission. “Every time we detect a blocked operation, we continue to send it to the European Commission, because trade policy is a common trade policy,” he said.
“It is the EU that has the instruments, both in terms of dialogue and response, and there are contacts between the European and Algerian authorities”, added Albares with regard to the actions that could be taken against Algeria for its actions by virtue of the Association Agreement between the EU-27 and the Maghreb country.
He hoped that trade “will be resumed as soon as possible”, given that it is “mutually beneficial” and that the situation can be redirected “through dialogue”, stressing that in this matter it is Brussels and not the government that has to act because it is “the one that has the instruments to do so”.
