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ARCHIVED - Uncertainty over Gibraltan and Spanish border agreement as war of words begins
Brussels has said on Monday that it is examining the agreement between Spain and the United Kingdom over Gibraltar
Negotiations have yet to be opened to fix the future relationship of the Rock with the European bloc
On 31st December it was announced that a last-minute agreement had been reached between the Gibraltan, Spanish and UK Governments with regard to the Gibraltan border, which would effectively see the removal of the existing frontier border between the British colony and the Spanish mainland, guaranteeing free movement for residents of both Gibraltar and Spain and the external border becoming a Schengen border entry point.
Although this was widely welcomed as a stop-gap solution to pre-empt any potential border disputes post-Brexit, the glitter from the New Year party poppers had barely settled when a war of words between politicians of various political parties about who would be in charge of the frontier checks began.
Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, told El Pais in an interview on the 2nd that Spain would have “the last say” over who could enter Gibraltar, and has insisted that Spain will be responsible, "as a member state of the EU that belongs to the Schengen area", for the fulfillment of the agreement and therefore will be the one who has "the final decision who enters "into the Schengen area, for which it will have the assistance of Frontex.
First Minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo tweeted in response, also on the 2nd, “Under the New Year's Eve Agreement only Gibraltar will decide who enters Gibraltar & Spanish officers will not exercise any controls in Gibraltar at the Airport or Port now or in four years time. This is our land. Couldn't be clearer.”
In an intervierw with the Gibraltar Chronicle, First Minister Fabian Picardo then said the following: “The New Year's Eve Agreement expressly provides that only Gibraltar will decide who is able to enter Gibraltar. Those decisions will be made exclusively by the Gibraltar Borders and Coastguard Agency [BCA] in keeping with Gibraltar immigration policy and the data available to them from our / UK security databases. Only once entry into Gibraltar has been granted by Gibraltar by the BCA, then entry into the Schengen area will be determined by Frontex officers who will be connected to the European Schengen Information System which will be remotely provided to the Frontex officers by Spain. To be clear though, Spanish law enforcement will not be at the port or airport.
The Schengen checks are related to the European Schengen Information System. Access through the Gibraltar frontier will be exclusively a matter for us.
Access to Schengen is a purely European matter. Spain is a member state of Schengen. The choice really is whether you face those controls in the form of a Spanish officer at the land frontier with Spain or in the form of a Frontex officer at the port and airport, with Spain remotely providing the data to the Frontex officers. But let us be clear, the database is not a Spanish database, it is a European database which Spain feeds information into and can access, but Spain does not control the database.
I have said repeatedly in Parliament that we will not accept Spanish law enforcement officials wearing an arm band as the Frontex force.
The only law and jurisdiction which will apply to anyone detained in Gibraltar will be Gibraltar law. Practical details will be set out in the Shared Prosperity Treaty we are going to start hammering out now. Gibraltar has avoided a hard Brexit. We have avoided the UK having a deal and our being the only part of the Continent of Europe without a legal relationship with the EU. We are hoping to cure decades of mobility issues and to deprive a future right wing Spanish government of the whip hand on the queues. We have not ceded one iota of sovereignty, jurisdiction or control. We have, in some ways that will become apparent, cemented our position.”
However, the headlines of several major Spanish focused on his tweet that “Spain would have no control” over the new Schengen border, giving the very distinct impression that turbulent waters lie ahead and that much is still to be negotiated while the temporary agreement is in place.
The PP in Spain has immediately requested that Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez appear in Parliament to explain the content of the agreement about Gibraltar.
Right-wing party Vox has accused the Government of “betrayal” and maintained its stance that “Gibraltar forms part of Spanish territory” which has “been colonised by a foreign power”.
Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Arancha Gonzalez Laya, said on Monday that she trusted that "all democratic forces" would support this agreement, which she hopes to see concluded within six months.
"It may be before, hopefully not after," she assured. The Schengen Agreement will begin from this point and until then the existing frontier will be maintained. While all this is happening, "we are going to make sure that we guarantee maximum fluidity, and confirmed that it will be the European Union that will have "the final decision of who enters" the Schengen area, for which it will have the assistance of Frontex.
The European Commission indicated on Monday that it is examining the agreement between Spain and the United Kingdom prior to opening negotiations to fix the future relationship of the Rock with the European bloc.
At a press conference, a community spokesman stated that Brussels is "examining" the agreement between Spain and the United Kingdom. "We do not yet have a timetable, but we are working to have a mandate from the Council as soon as possible with which to start formal negotiations," he said.
A priori, an "initial period of four years" has been agreed, after which the "general regime" that establishes the future agreement between the United Kingdom and the EU regarding Gibraltar would apply, although it is also possible that the agreement it is reviewed at the request of one of the parties or even annulled. "You can always undo an agreement, this one and all the others," González Laya stressed on Monday
Fabian Picardo is also lined up and ready for battle, maintaining that his “final deal will best be described as follows: "Sovereignty Safe, Prosperity Protected, Mobility Assured". But that is a long way off yet. There is still a lot to do and a Treaty to finalise. We may not get there in the end if there is any attempt to compromise the things that matter to us.”
“We can, if necessary, terminate the agreement,” he added.
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