Spain on the verge of closing a deal with the United Kingdom on Gibraltar

LondonOptimism in Gibraltar, cautious caution in Madrid, and expectant silence in London and Brussels. One of the many open chapters. in the wake of Brexit, the uncertain situation of the Rock and its citizens, seems about to be resolved after five years of negotiations between the various governments involved, as well as representatives of the territory, a British sovereign territory. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told the British press: "Now we can see the finish line."

To make the pact a reality, London sources suggest that Spain would be willing to shelve its claim to sovereignty but not renounce it. And the same sources indicate that one of the final sticking points is Spain's demand to move the border to Gibraltar's only airport, located very close to the land crossing. Officially, the agents controlling it could be from Frontex, the EU agency responsible for carrying out passport checks on all arrivals, but in practice they would be Spanish.

"We are 99% of the way there. We are very close, just a kiss away," Picardo insisted on the Radio Times. And if an agreement is ultimately ratified, Gibraltar could become an associate member of the Schengen Area, the European free movement zone that includes 29 countries, 25 of them EU members. All of this would allow, in Picardo's words, Gibraltarians to regain the freedom of movement "they enjoyed when they were European citizens."

Since the consummation of BrexitGibraltar is the classic example of how issues of sovereignty and supposed national pride—of both the British and the Spanish—overrule the economic and social interests of the inhabitants of both the Rock and the Camp de Gibraltar, fifteen thousand of whom cross a currently open fence every day to work on the other side. Since January 31, 2020, despite the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, Spain has insisted that it cannot turn a blind eye any longer and that the situation must be resolved.

Next Monday, in London, the European Union and the United Kingdom will hold a summit to, in principle, ratify a defense, energy, and trade pact, still pending ironing out loose ends regarding fishing and youth mobility. This Friday, in fact, in bilateral talks within the framework of the European Political Community meeting, which will take place in Tirana (Albania), Prime Minister Keir Starmer and representatives of the European Commission are expected to get down to work on what is interpreted as a restart of relations between London and Brussels after Brexit.

The double "betrayal" of Sánchez and Starmer

But to fully resume these relations, Spain also wants the Gibraltar dossier to be definitively concluded. Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares made this point explicitly in London this week, speaking to the BBC: "The relationship between the United Kingdom and the European Union is a comprehensive relationship, a global relationship, not a pick-and-choose relationship. There are many, many things we need to talk about, including Gibraltar. Gibraltar should be part of it. Because Gibraltar is not resolved. There is no agreement."

The issue of sovereignty over the Rock is the final stumbling block that, along with fishing quotas and youth mobility, could derail the agreements that are due to be signed on Monday in London. What is almost inevitable is that both in Madrid and London, however the matter is resolved—putting sovereignty aside, in one case, or ceding the power to Spanish police to control the border, in another—the two prime ministers, Pedro Sánchez and Keir Starmer, will have to feel like "traitors," as they are called. Not in vain, Robert Jenrick, Shadow Minister of Justice The Conservative Party's leader, published an article in the Conservative press on Wednesday entitled "Selling out loyal Gibraltar could be Starmer's next big betrayal." In Madrid, the language could be even harsher.