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Date Published: 28/06/2023

Hopes of a Gibraltar deal dwindle as Spain demands control of airport

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Disputes over sovereignty and who should control the Rock’s border have forced negotiations into a stalemate

Hopes of a Gibraltar deal dwindle as Spain demands control of airport

Negotiations on the status of Gibraltar, which has been in limbo since the Brexit vote meant the British Overseas Territory on Spain’s southern border was no longer part of the EU, are said to be at an impasse and it now seems more complicated than ever to reach an agreement.

The main sticking point in the most recent round of talks, according to Governor of the Rock David Steel in an interview with The Times, is that the Spanish are demanding jurisdiction over Gibraltar airport, a red line which the UK is utterly unwilling to cross.

Specifically, Spanish negotiators appear to have asked for ‘regulatory framework’ over management of the airport, which the British side say impedes on UK sovereignty in Gibraltar and which they cannot tolerate.

In the 2020 New Year’s Eve Framework Agreement, the issue of sovereignty was left aside, the Chief Minister said, but now Spain has reintroduced it.

For their part, The Times claims, Spanish officials have accused the UK of “quibbling” over small details of the deal, slamming the Brits’ attitude as “penny-wise and pound-foolish”.

Read also: Tunnel linking Spain and Gibraltar finally opens after 15 years

On New Year's Eve 2020, just a few hours before the end of the Brexit transition period, London and Madrid managed to reach an agreement ‘in extremis’ in principle to avoid the strict controls on the only land border – along with Ireland – that now links the United Kingdom with the European Union. The text of that agreement contained the guidelines for a treaty between the European Commission and the Rock, but it is only a temporary solution that can be rescinded at any time.

Around 30,000 people are estimated to cross the Gibraltar-Spain border every day, among them 15,000 workers, 10,000 of whom are Spaniards living in the adjacent province of Cádiz, a fact which is forcing Madrid and the Rock to find a pragmatic solution for coexistence, although the spectre of a “no deal” is always there.

The Spanish claim that in order to guarantee free movement of people across this border, the Schengen area should be extended to include the port and airport of Gibraltar, but that would require the presence of Spanish border force agents since Spain is a Schengen member and the UK is not. The UK, however, is unwilling to have Spain controlling these aspects of its border.

Neither party really wants to make it harder to cross the border as that would seriously affect the economy of both Gibraltar and the surrounding Spanish areas. But, at the same time, no one wants to sign any deal that could affect the issue of sovereignty in an international treaty.

The UK side believe they are in a strong position as, according to Governor Steel, the importance of Gibraltar now is greater than it has been for 40 years, since the end of the Cold War, and that with a resurgent Russia and an assertive China, its strategic importance as a gateway to the Atlantic and the Mediterranean is obvious.

The Spanish government considers that “the ball is in the UK’s court” when it comes to deciding on the proposal and that it believes that it is London – and in particular the Gibraltar government – that are responsible for the stalemate in the negotiations.

At the beginning of May, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Spanish PM Pedro Sánchez agreed that a deal should be made “as soon as possible”.

Now, with less than a month to go before the general election in Spain, most efforts by Spanish officials will now be geared towards that rather than reaching a deal with the UK on Gibraltar’s trade and customs rights and the guaranteed free movement of people across the border.

It has also been suggested that, if the polls are correct and the centre-right PP party gets into power – either with or without the far-right VOX as coalition partner – they will be less willing to continue the already protracted Gibraltar negotiations, and less willing to concede their demands to the UK, although an extension to the temporary deal’s deadline means they have until December 2024 to come to an agreement.

Image: Archive

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