Foreign Secretary David Cameron and his Spanish counterpart, Jose Manuel Albares, discussed the UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar this week, as the UK, Gibraltar and Spain again signalled their desire to progress with the negotiation and bring it to a close “as soon as possible”.
The two ministers spoke on the phone on Monday and were due to meet in person on the sidelines of a NATO summit in Brussels.
The contact was confirmed by Mr Albares in an interview Tuesday morning on Telecinco’s current affairs programme ‘La Mirada Critica’, in which the Spanish minister reiterated Spain’s desire for formal treaty negotiations to resume swiftly.
“Just yesterday [meaning Monday], I had my first contact with the British Foreign Secretary, David Cameron,” he said.
“We had a phone conversation from Barcelona, where I was, specifically to discuss the Gibraltar agreement, and we agreed that we need to move forward as soon as possible.”
“Spain has already put forward an agreement many months ago, a balanced and generous agreement, and that is the path we will follow.”
“And today, after the Council of Ministers concludes, I will fly to Brussels for the NATO ministerial meeting where I will see David Cameron for the first time.”
“Yesterday, we agreed over the phone that today we would continue our conversation face-to-face in a first personal, in-person contact, to keep making progress.”
As he has done on numerous occasions, Mr Albares indicated again that were it up to Spain, the agreement would already be signed.
“What Spain wants is for this agreement to be signed tomorrow," he said.
That last comment caused a flurry of activity as some media outlets interpreted it as a sign that a deal was imminent, but that speculation seems premature.
Spain has repeatedly pointed to the deal it presented last December – the proposal was, in fact, presented by the EU – and suggested it is the UK side that is reluctant to seal it.
But this proposal was just one of multiple texts exchanged by the UK/Gibraltar and EU teams as they seek to iron out differences and find common positions acceptable to all sides.
The issue was aired publicly in December last year, when the UK and Gibraltar made clear there were aspects of that EU proposal that were unacceptable, including Spain’s insistence on a reference to “joint use” of the airport, something already firmly rejected in the past. The British side says it is open only to “enhanced use” of the airport.
Officials were clear on Tuesday that whatever the latest proposals from either side, there was no agreed text yet on which a deal could be sealed, and that any agreement must respect the fine-tuned balance reached in the New Year’s Eve framework.
The message is that had there been a deal on the table acceptable to all sides, the agreement would have been signed by now.
There is no date yet confirmed for the next formal round of talks between the UK and the EU, though there is a desire on all sides to progress as soon as possible.
Officials have in mind the European Parliament elections in June 2024 and the forthcoming UK general election likely next year, which would again put the process on hold if the negotiation is not concluded by then.
Speaking as he arrived in Brussels for the NATO meeting, Mr Albares told reporters that an agreement was “very close” and that there remained only “some loose ends”.
“There are some loose ends to negotiate and that is what we are going to start dealing with today,” he told reporters as he arrived in Brussels.
“Today we are going to talk about a political conversation. Texts need to be presented, drafts, (...), but it is also true that I believe we are at a point where what the agreement needs now is the political will to move forward.”
“The ball was and continues to be in the United Kingdom's court, and it is up to them to decide whether they want an agreement or if they prefer that European legislation be applied, which from my point of view is absurd.”
The contact between Mr Cameron and Mr Albares was also confirmed by the Office of the Governor in The Convent.
“During a call with Spanish Foreign Minister Albares, Foreign Secretary David Cameron underlined the UK Government’s commitment to concluding a UK-EU treaty on Gibraltar as soon as possible,” a Convent spokesperson told the Chronicle.
The Gibraltar Government also signalled its desire to return to the negotiating table.
“The Government very much welcomes a resumption of the negotiations for a treaty on the future relationship of Gibraltar with the European Union and our nearest EU neighbour Spain,” a spokesperson for No.6 Convent Place said.
“We remain firmly committed to the New Year’s Eve agreement of 2020 which set out the political framework for such a treaty.”
“The UK and Gibraltar are working in lockstep to secure a safe and secure agreement that is beneficial to Gibraltar as soon as possible.”
