Brexit row with EU explodes as Gibraltar issues final ultimatum to 'hostile' Spain

Gibraltar is gearing up for “crunch” post-Brexit talks with Spain and the European Union in a bid to thrash out a post-Brexit treaty, the British overseas territory’s deputy Chief Minister has said.

But Joseph Garcia has warned there is no question of compromise when it comes to “red lines on sovereignty and jurisdiction”.

Gibraltar’s relationship with its neighbour has been radically altered since the UK quit the bloc on January 31, 2020. Throughout the transition period which followed, and which ran until December 31, 2020, it was still treated as an EU territory for most purposes.

However, because it is no longer in the Schengen Travel Area, free movement to and from the bloc is no longer permitted. This was a fact of life starkly illustrated by big queues at its border with Spain on December 29 as border guards insisted on checking the documentation of non-EU residents individually.

Mr Garcia, in an op-ed written for the Gibraltar Chronicle, warned 2024 “will be a year of many challenges” as efforts continue to strike a deal “which will govern our future relationship with the European Union, and with our closest EU neighbour Spain”.

He continued: “The coming weeks are expected to be crunch time here.

“It is true that there have already been numerous self-imposed deadlines in the past which have come and gone.

“However, the European Parliament is set to dissolve itself with a view to new elections in June, and effectively a caretaker Commission will be in place until a new one takes office in the autumn.

“All this means that the negotiations cannot continue forever. Time is running out and 2024 will, at some point, see Gibraltar reach a fork in the road.”

Either the Rock, located on the southern tip of Spain, agreed a way forward “protected by a treaty”, or it “settled down to the hard reality of life without one”, Mr Garcia explained.

He said: “The overriding consideration in the conclusion of a treaty will be that there is no crossing of our red lines on sovereignty and jurisdiction.

“Both Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and I have made clear that this is never going to happen. There will be no treaty otherwise.

“Indeed, the United Kingdom too has said that it will continue to remain firm on the question of sovereignty. So if we manage to conclude a treaty, you can rest assured that it will be safe, secure and beneficial for us all.

“We will simply not support it if it does not meet this criteria.”

Nevertheless, a treaty would require a “different mindset” on all sides, Mr Garcia emphasised, with some compromise inevitable.

He said: “The four parties involved, Gibraltar, the United Kingdom, Spain and the European Union each had their own views, interests and policies to defend as the detailed negotiations have progressed.

“The final product that may emerge will obviously be the result of those many different positions thrown into the melting pot.

“One prize within our grasp is a potential transformation in the relationship with our neighbours away from hundreds of years of conflict and confrontation towards a new one without frontier queues, as a result of a common travel area with the Schengen zone.”

Many would be deeply uneasy, Mr Garcia acknowledged, given Madrid had for decades “embarked on a deliberate campaign of antagonism and hostility towards Gibraltar and the Gibraltarians”.

He said: “Those periods of coercion have generated a degree of mistrust which cannot simply be airbrushed away in an instant with a signature and a photograph.

“However, it is easy to forget, though, that Gibraltar finds itself in this position sadly because of the issues generated by the departure of the United Kingdom from the European Union.”

It was entirely possible that Spain would make it “impossible” for a treaty to be included, Mr Garcia cautioned, which is why it was imperative for Gibraltar to be prepared.

He said: “The point to make here, however, is that the status quo is not an option. We will not be able to remain as we currently are, cushioned from some of the worst effects of Brexit.

“The impact on Gibraltar in coming months will either be that of a treaty or that of no treaty at all.”