Spain seeks assurances on Gibraltar in draft Brexit deal
Foreign minister says Madrid wants greater clarity on the future of peninsula before backing EU agreement with UK
Spain will not back the EU’s draft Brexit agreement without clarity that Madrid will be able to negotiate the future of Gibraltar directly with Britain, Spanish foreign minister Josep Borrell said on Monday. Arriving for Brexit talks with EU ministers, Borrell said Madrid wanted the deal on Britain’s exit to make it clear that talks on ties between London and the bloc would not apply to Gibraltar. “The negotiations between Britain and the EU have a territorial scope that does not include Gibraltar, the negotiations on the future of Gibraltar are separate discussions,” Borrell said.
“This is what needs to be made clear, and until it is clarified in the withdrawal agreement and in the political declaration on the future relationship we cannot give our backing [to the deal].” A small peninsula on Spain’s southern coast and a British territory since 1713, Gibraltar is a major point of contention in Anglo-Spanish relations. Spain has long claimed sovereignty over the territory. Gib...
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