PP asks the Government for the “expected date” to publish the “full content of the agreement on Gibraltar”

Eduardo González The People's Party Parliamentary Group has asked the Government for the "expected date" to publish the "full content of the agreement on Gibraltar" and for other details related to this agreement, such as commitments regarding border management, the "negotiation margins that the Government is willing to accept," and the Executive's opinion "on whether the removal of the border fence could undermine the Spanish claim of sovereignty over Gibraltar." On June 11, José Manuel Albares, Vice-President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, and UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy reached a “definitive” political agreement on “the fundamental aspects of the future Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom concerning Gibraltar” after meeting in Brussels in the presence of Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo. According to the joint statement, the text “safeguards the respective legal positions of Spain and the United Kingdom regarding sovereignty and jurisdiction,” guarantees the free movement of people by eliminating borders and controls between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar region, and establishes that the Spanish National Police will be responsible, on behalf of the European Union, for carrying out full Schengen controls at Gibraltar’s port and airport. For the agreement to take effect, it still needs to be formalized as a legally binding treaty, which is still being negotiated. On October 22, the PP Group submitted a series of questions (a total of 16) regarding the details of the EU-UK agreement on Gibraltar reached on June 11. These questions were submitted a few days after the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, appeared before Congress on the same matter. In that appearance, the Foreign Minister asserted that the agreement would put an end to “the last wall of continental Europe” without “compromising or relinquishing Spain’s position” on the Rock. Carlos Floriano, of the People’s Party (PP), stated that the government has only “announced what it intends to do, but we haven’t signed yet; we don’t know how this will end, which fills us with concern.” In one of the questions, the PP noted that some media outlets had reported that Spain and the United Kingdom were finalizing the terms of the agreement, “without its content having been made public to date.” Therefore, they asked what “date the government plans to release the full content of the agreement on Gibraltar” is and what “negotiation margins the government is willing to accept in its agreement with the United Kingdom and the European Union.” Furthermore, the PP points out in another set of questions that one of the “most sensitive aspects of the negotiations on the future framework for relations with Gibraltar is the possible removal of the border fence, a measure that would have profound implications regarding sovereignty, security, and control of flows,” that “it could have significant legal and symbolic implications in relation to Spain’s historical claim of sovereignty over Gibraltar,” and even that it “raises questions about the impact it could have on Spain’s diplomatic position before international organizations.” Therefore, the People’s Group asks the Government what its “official position” is regarding the possibility of removing the Gibraltar border fence within the framework of negotiations with the United Kingdom and the European Commission, what its “opinion” is on “whether removing the fence could undermine Spain’s claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar,” and what “guarantees the Government demands to ensure that removing the Gibraltar border fence does not weaken Spain’s diplomatic position in international forums.” Furthermore, the People’s Group asks the Government to clarify what measures it plans to “strengthen Spain’s position regarding Gibraltar at the United Nations,” especially in international forums addressing “issues pending negotiation,” and what the “red lines established by the various parties in the negotiation of the agreement on Gibraltar” are, paying particular attention to the defense of national interests and “interpretations that could affect sovereignty or territorial integrity.” In the remaining questions, the People’s Group asks the Government to specify the means or procedures that have been enabled for local administrations in the Campo de Gibraltar region to [perform the necessary procedures]. Gibraltar will be informed of the progress of the negotiations on the agreement concerning Gibraltar, the date on which an official document will be sent to the institutions of the Campo de Gibraltar, including the practical effects of the agreement on Gibraltar, the commitments established in relation to the management of the border and the application of the agreement on Gibraltar in the aforementioned region, the participation mechanisms that the Government has planned so that the Campo de Gibraltar is represented in the application of the future agreement between Spain and the United Kingdom on the aforementioned territory, the plans to convene a working group with the municipalities of the area before the ratification of the agreement on Gibraltar, the role that local administrations will have in monitoring the practical effects of the treaty on Gibraltar, and the plans to establish an international monitoring mechanism to ensure compliance and transparency of the agreement on Gibraltar.

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