There are disputes over the fate of Gibraltar after Brexit
The Brexit agreement proposed by British Prime Minister Theresa May was criticized by Spain. Madrid has demanded a veto over any future agreements between Britain and the European Union that will affect Gibraltar.
The territorial dispute between the United Kingdom and Spain has existed since the beginning of the 17th century. According to the Utrecht Peace Treaty of 1713, the state of the rock in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula is ruled by Britain.
However, when London decided to leave the European Union, the situation with Gibraltar changed. If the UK ceases to be part of Europe, then the same fate will befall all its overseas territories, including Gibraltar. In this case, the country with the lowest business and property taxes in the world will be held hostage to its own geographical location.
According to Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, “negotiations between Britain and the European Union cannot regulate the situation in Gibraltar. I believe that the problem of Gibraltar needs to be discussed, but it should be separate negotiations. ”
The Spanish government wants the declaration on the state of relations between Britain and Spain to be annexed to the Brexit agreement. The resolution of the territorial dispute is a matter of concern for Spanish citizens. In their opinion, the ruling socialist party shows excessive softness in this matter.
“As practice has shown, in the negotiations on Brexit everything is decided at the last moment. Most likely, it will be so in our case. In any case, nothing has been decided yet. We must be prepared for the fact that at the last minute there will be some kind of surprise. ”
According to the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, Theresa May assured him that the interests of the state would be taken into account in any case. “It is no wonder that the Spanish government started talking about Gibraltar at the last moment. One gets the feeling that Madrid is not very determined to build relations based on mutual trust ... The language of the veto is the language of the past. He has no place in modern Europe, where the UK and Gibraltar are trying to build new positive relations with the European Union. ”
According to the British press, the situation is as follows: Spain did not care about the territorial dispute at all. But as soon as the UK published a draft brexit agreement, the Spaniards spoke of a veto over any decisions regarding Gibraltar.
How it was in reality: from the very beginning of the negotiations between London and Brussels, the Spanish government spoke of the need to take concrete decisions on Gibraltar. Particular attention was demanded by the questions of the Spanish-Gibraltar border, the rights of the Gibraltarians to work in Spain (and vice versa), and the functioning of the airport. Theresa May argued that all these points will be described in detail in the final version of the agreement. As a result, the British limited themselves to saying that all the provisions of the treaty are equally applicable to all the overseas territories of Great Britain.
The territorial dispute between the United Kingdom and Spain has existed since the beginning of the 17th century. According to the Utrecht Peace Treaty of 1713, the state of the rock in the south-east of the Iberian Peninsula is ruled by Britain.
However, when London decided to leave the European Union, the situation with Gibraltar changed. If the UK ceases to be part of Europe, then the same fate will befall all its overseas territories, including Gibraltar. In this case, the country with the lowest business and property taxes in the world will be held hostage to its own geographical location.
According to Spanish Foreign Minister Josep Borrell, “negotiations between Britain and the European Union cannot regulate the situation in Gibraltar. I believe that the problem of Gibraltar needs to be discussed, but it should be separate negotiations. ”
The Spanish government wants the declaration on the state of relations between Britain and Spain to be annexed to the Brexit agreement. The resolution of the territorial dispute is a matter of concern for Spanish citizens. In their opinion, the ruling socialist party shows excessive softness in this matter.
“As practice has shown, in the negotiations on Brexit everything is decided at the last moment. Most likely, it will be so in our case. In any case, nothing has been decided yet. We must be prepared for the fact that at the last minute there will be some kind of surprise. ”
According to the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo, Theresa May assured him that the interests of the state would be taken into account in any case. “It is no wonder that the Spanish government started talking about Gibraltar at the last moment. One gets the feeling that Madrid is not very determined to build relations based on mutual trust ... The language of the veto is the language of the past. He has no place in modern Europe, where the UK and Gibraltar are trying to build new positive relations with the European Union. ”
According to the British press, the situation is as follows: Spain did not care about the territorial dispute at all. But as soon as the UK published a draft brexit agreement, the Spaniards spoke of a veto over any decisions regarding Gibraltar.
How it was in reality: from the very beginning of the negotiations between London and Brussels, the Spanish government spoke of the need to take concrete decisions on Gibraltar. Particular attention was demanded by the questions of the Spanish-Gibraltar border, the rights of the Gibraltarians to work in Spain (and vice versa), and the functioning of the airport. Theresa May argued that all these points will be described in detail in the final version of the agreement. As a result, the British limited themselves to saying that all the provisions of the treaty are equally applicable to all the overseas territories of Great Britain.
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