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Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said on Tuesday that his country “is not changing a single comma” in its claim to sovereignty over Gibraltar, after signing in Brussels the agreement between the European Union and the United Kingdom to regulate the situation of the territory after Brexit.
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“Article 2 makes it very clear that Spain is not changing a single comma of its sovereignty claim, that we continue to assert sovereignty and that our position remains exactly the same,” Albares told reporters after the signing.
The last stretch of the border fence, the Verja, will be demolished this Wednesday; the top Spanish diplomat described it as “the last frontier in continental Europe”.
Albares argued that the agreement safeguards Spain’s position on sovereignty over ‘the Rock’ and at the same time allows progress in cooperation in day-to-day coexistence with Gibraltar.
“We protect that claim and, above all, we are making a spectacular leap into the future in terms of cooperation and coexistence,” he stressed.
Albares also said that Spain has achieved all the objectives it set for itself at the start of the negotiations and stressed that Madrid’s sovereignty claim is “protected” by the terms of the agreement.
The treaty was signed in Brussels by European Commissioner for Trade Maros Sefcovic and the UK Minister of State for Europe, Stephen Doughty. Albares and Gibraltar’s Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, also took part in the ceremony.
The deal, in Albares’ view, “opens a new era” in relations between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar, and allows the Brexit chapter to be definitively closed, six years after the United Kingdom’s actual departure from the 27-member bloc.
‘Towards a future full of opportunities’
The agreement will lead to the demolition of the Verja that separates Gibraltar from Spanish land and will mark a new chapter in how the way the British overseas territory manages its relationship with the European Union post-Brexit.
The top Spanish diplomat outlined that the new framework will guarantee freedom of movement for people and goods, prevent the “distortions of the past” in areas such as taxation and the environment and provide “new connectivity for the Campo de Gibraltar”.
The deal was presented as a turning point after more than three centuries of disputes and mistrust around the territory.
“We are leaving behind three centuries marked by mistrust and confrontation. Those who used to live back-to-back, as Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar did, are moving forward together towards a future full of opportunities,” he added.
Albares responds to domestic criticism
Asked about criticisms of the agreement from representatives of opposition Popular Party and Vox, Albares said that “even if they do not realise it, they too have won”.
“This is an agreement in favour of the 300,000 Andalusians in the Campo de Gibraltar, of their interests and their future. Ultimately, cooperating and investing in coexistence can only be to Spain’s benefit,” Albares emphasised.
He insisted that the treaty will strengthen cooperation and improve economic and social opportunities on both sides of the fence, while leaving Spain’s historic position on the sovereignty of Gibraltar virtually unchanged.
