Eduardo González
The European Commission adopted its proposals on Tuesday, February 17, for the signing, provisional application, and conclusion of the agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar.
The proposals will now be transmitted to the Council, the Commission announced in a press release. The Council will then proceed with the necessary steps for the signing and conclusion of the agreement, and finally, the European Parliament must give its consent for ratification, in accordance with EU treaties. On February 3, the Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, simply announced at a press conference that “the agreement has already reached the Council of the EU and is imminent to reach the European Parliament.”
The EU-UK agreement on Gibraltar will complete the legal framework for EU-UK relations established by the Trade and Cooperation Agreement. Gibraltar is not included in the scope of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, signed in 2020 and in force since 2021.
The main objective of the agreement is to ensure the future prosperity of the entire region by removing all physical barriers to the movement of people and goods between Spain and Gibraltar, while fully safeguarding Schengen, the EU Single Market, and its Customs Union. According to the European Commission, this agreement will bring confidence and legal certainty to the lives and well-being of people throughout the region by promoting shared prosperity and close, constructive relations between Gibraltar and the Spanish authorities.
“Our objective has been clear and strategic: to guarantee long-term prosperity for the region, while safeguarding full Schengen, the EU Single Market, and our Customs Union,” stated Maroš Šefčovič, Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security, Interinstitutional Relations, and Transparency.
“With 15,000 people crossing daily between Gibraltar and Spain, this is about legal certainty, confidence for businesses and individuals, and a cooperative future that strengthens our mutual relationship,” he added.
In mid-December, negotiators from the European Union and the United Kingdom successfully completed the drafting of the legal text of the treaty on Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU after Brexit.
The two negotiating teams had been discussing the final text for months after the European Union (represented by the Vice-President of the European Commission, Maroš Šefčovič, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares) and the United Kingdom (represented by the UK Foreign Secretary, David Lammy, and the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo) reached a “definitive” political agreement on “the fundamental aspects of the future Agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom concerning Gibraltar” on June 11, 2025, in Brussels.
The Government of Gibraltar has already approved the Treaty for ratification, provided no changes are made to the meaning of the approved text during the statutory review. Once the final text is available, it will be submitted to the Parliament of Gibraltar as a motion subject to amendments for debate. Approval by the Parliament of Gibraltar will signal the United Kingdom to proceed with its own ratification procedures for the Treaty.
