The Diplomat
The Gibraltarian chief minister, Fabian Picardo, took advantage of yesterday’s celebration of Gibraltar’s National Day to reject any cession of sovereignty during negotiations with the EU and reiterate his opposition to Brussels’ claim to cede to Spain the control and surveillance of the external borders of the Schengen zone in the port, airport and waters of the Rock.
“On the 10th September 1967 we made a choice. We chose to remain British. And today we commemorate and celebrate that choice. In the same way as our forefathers said then, we are clear”, Picardo said in a message to Gibraltarians.
“The soil of Gibraltar will belong to no one but the people of Gibraltar. No one but the Gibraltarians will decide the future of this, our land. And we will never make or permit any concessions on our sovereignty. We will preserve and maintain full jurisdiction and control over our land and every part of our sea and air”, he continued.
“That is not just our position. It is the position of the United Kingdom too. And in the months to come we – alongside the UK – will negotiate commercial and immigration arrangements with the EU which will not impinge on sovereignty in any way. We will negotiate a future treaty that we will agree only if itis in keeping with the New Year’s Eve Agreement“, he warned. “And we will be clear in that negotiation: Only we will decide who enters or does not enter Gibraltar. We will never cede that decision making power to anyone”, he added.
The European Commission approved, last July 20, 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. The text states 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 the responsibility of 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. The mandate will still have to be approved by the EU Council before the Commission can start negotiating with London. It is expected that the final agreement will be signed by the end of this year and that controls can be eliminated in 2022.
Once the text was known, the British Foreign Minister, Dominic Raab, warned that London will not accept any proposal that grants the Spanish authorities the ability to carry out border controls at the airport and port of the Rock because “it undermines the UK’s sovereignty over Gibraltar and cannot be the basis for negotiations”. For his part, Picardo declared at the same time that his government will “never accept a treaty that in any way resembles the mandate issued by the EU Commission”.
