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Date Published: 22/07/2021

ARCHIVED - Spain agrees to honour pre-Brexit agreement over Gibraltar border

ARCHIVED ARTICLE

Spain’s Minister of Foreign Affairs has agreed to enlist an EU agency to man the Gibraltar borders

<span style='color:#780948'>ARCHIVED</span> - Spain agrees to honour pre-Brexit agreement over Gibraltar border

Post-Brexit negotiations over the control of the Gibraltar border ended in a stalemate on Tuesday with the London delegates insisting that they would not agree to Spanish officials manning the sea and air borders. The first draft of the mandate proposed by Brussels made no mention of the EU border agency Frontex manning the ports and roads rather than the Spaniards themselves, and the British government felt that Spain was pushing for control.

Handing over the responsibility of the borders to Spanish authorities "undermines the sovereignty of the United Kingdom over Gibraltar and cannot be the basis for negotiations," UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab insisted.

Mr Raab accused the EU of backtracking on the temporary agreement reached between London and Madrid on December 31 just before the Brexit deadline and made it “very clear” that handing over control of the borders to Spain would not be an option.

However, the new Spanish Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares, has assured that Spain will comply with “everything agreed” with the UK on Gibraltar. At a meeting with Mr Raab in London, Albares agreed to ask that Frontex agents control the borders as part of the ongoing negotiations.

After the meeting at the Lancaster House Palace, the Spanish minister told reporters that “there are many interests at stake between Spain and the United Kingdom” and that it was essential to “build trust”.

He reiterated his commitment to stand by the agreement signed by Spain, Gibraltar and the United Kingdom back in December which aimed at establishing the foundations of the future relationship with the Rock after Brexit. Reached at the eleventh hour, the agreement specified that there would be no hard border between the territory and Spain and that controls would only be implemented at its port and airport, as if Gibraltar were park of the Schengen zone.

Spanish diplomatic sources today confirmed that while there are still many issues to iron out before a formal agreement is made about Gibraltar, one thing which will not change is the intention to request the help of Frontex to man the borders.

The two ministers also renewed agreements between Spain and the UK regarding Gibraltar on Police and Customs Cooperation, Cooperation on Environmental Matters and on Tobacco and Other Products.