Spain’s Foreign Minister has issued an unprecedented rebuke to an EU official after he joked that Gibraltar is Spanish, amid ongoing negotiations with the UK over the territory’s future, Daily Mail reported.
José Manuel Albares described the remarks made by European Commission Vice President Margaritis Schinas at a briefing in Seville yesterday as “very unfortunate and incomprehensible.”
During the meeting Schinas said in response to questions about the future of Gibraltar: “I can more comfortably say ‘Gibraltar Español’ after Brexit.”
The UK has been involved in negotiations over the status of the overseas territory, which shares a land border with Spain, since the UK left the EU. The talks have stalled recently as Spain has insisted that the UK cede jurisdiction over Gibraltar airport, which is home to the UK Air Force, to reach an agreement. There are also tensions over the role of Spanish police.
We have reached a formula which would mean Frontex (the EU border agency) would manage the border on behalf of the EU, overseen by Spanish officials, Vice-Admiral Sir David Steel, the governor of Gibraltar said.
He further added, expressing confusion over the words “overseeen by Spanish officials”:
What does ‘overseen’ look like? We must ensure that it doesn’t stretch into sovereignty that it does not exceed what we can accept in terms of jurisdiction and control.
Albares and Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice-president who is leading the Gibraltar talks, responded by issuing a joint statement criticising Schinas’s words. They said:
The negotiations between the EU and the United Kingdom regarding Gibraltar are progressing as planned.
“I have spoken with Commissioner Schinas regarding those statements he made, which seem very unfortunate and incomprehensible to me because Commissioner Schinas is not at all involved in the dossier of the withdrawal agreement concerning Gibraltar,” Albares said, speaking on Spain’s state broadcaster RTVE on Thursday night.
Further, he added Schinas’s had “told me that it was not his intention, that he regretted it, that, well, he did not have all the information and, basically, he apologised for it.”
Lord Cameron, the UK foreign secretary, is expected to meet Albares and Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar’s chief minister, in Brussels next week to continue the talks.
In theory, Gibraltar, home to more than 32,000 people, is currently outside the EU customs union and is not subject to free movement rules. However, Madrid has granted a temporary exemption for workers and tourists to avoid disruption on the narrow peninsula, which adjoins Spain’s southern coast, leaving the overseas territory in limbo post-Brexit. The temporary agreement could be cancelled by Spain at any time, so talks are underway to harmonise shared travel between Gibraltar and the European Union’s Schengen zone.
