Jose Manuel Albares, Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, was quizzed during a parliamentary session on Friday on Spain’s insistence that armed uniformed Spanish police officers be directly involved in Schengen controls in Gibraltar as part of any UK/EU treaty.
The question was blunt and went to the heart of what is widely seen as one of the thorniest issues in the negotiation for a treaty on the Rock’s post-Brexit relations with the bloc.
“What’s more important, a Spanish police officer’s uniform and a pistol, or benefits for 300,000 people in the area?” asked Francesc-Marco Álvaro, an MP with Esquerra Republicana de Catalunya.
Mr Albares, as he has done in the past, said it was down to EU rules.
“I don’t give it greater or lesser importance,” Mr Albares replied.
“But the Schengen area, wherever it applies, must be implemented uniformly, and if the Schengen area is extended to Gibraltar, it will have to function exactly the same way as it does in the rest of the Schengen space.”
“I see that some Gibraltarian authorities are very concerned about those uniforms.”
“It doesn’t concern me. I simply want things to be applied as they should be.”
“And exactly the same goes for the free movement of goods and everything related to that freedom of goods movement.”
Mr Albares was speaking during a question-and-answer session of the Foreign Affairs Committee in the Spanish Congress, during which the discussion was dominated by the conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine, and by recent controversial developments in Spain’s relationship with Latin American countries including Venezuela.
The session touched on Gibraltar a number of times, but the focus was on what Mr Albares described as “a global context defined by multiple crises”, a reminder that the treaty negotiation is unfolding against a backdrop of “global instability”.
The minister was criticised by rightwing parties for not providing information about the Gibraltar negotiation.
Carlos Floriano, the PP MP on the committee, also noted the development on Thursday regarding the UK’s agreement to hand sovereignty of the Chagos Islands to Mauritius.
“Has the Spanish government not been able to do something similar to Chagos?” he asked.
“Why? Why hasn't this issue been used to defend [Spain’s position on] Gibraltar?”
“According to the United Nations, the only three cases left to decolonize, based on the principle of territorial integrity and not self-determination, are Chagos, the Falklands (Malvinas), and Gibraltar.”
Mr Albares did not address the Chagos issues but replied that Vox and the PP were “perfectly aware” of the deal that Spain and the EU were seeking to negotiate.
“You know perfectly well: the free movement of people and goods - and this involves extending the Customs Union and Schengen area to Gibraltar – and it must be governed in the same way and manner as in the rest of the Schengen area and Customs Union,” he said.
“Physical barriers, like the fence, should be removed so this can happen, and the airport should be used.”
Earlier in the session, Mr Albares had referred to the recent high-level political meeting in Brussels, which he described as a meeting between himself, his UK counterpart David Lammy, and the EU’s chief negotiator, Maros Sefcovic.
Mr Albares made no mention of Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and was picked up on this by Vox MP Carlos Flores Juberías, who said Spain had accepted that Gibraltar be sat at the negotiating table too.
“The United Kingdom forms its delegation as it sees fit,” Mr Albares said.
“And if it wants to include representatives from the Gibraltar authorities within them, they can do whatever they want.”
Mr Albares acknowledged concerns raised by MPs about the forthcoming entry into operation of the EU’s new automated border control system.
Implementation is scheduled for November 10, although there are growing indications that the date may slip.
“This is not a decision made by Spain but by all the countries that are part of the Schengen area,” he said.
“As to whether there will be an agreement before that date or not, you will have to ask the UK government and the residents of Gibraltar.”
“From Spain’s side, without a doubt, the agreement is on the table, but they are the ones who need to tell us whether they want it or if they prefer the European legislation to definitively come into effect.”
“That is an answer I obviously cannot provide on their behalf.”
Mr Albares insisted that Spain had proposed “a balanced and generous agreement, one that guarantees the free movement of people and goods between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar.”
“And, of course, in order for that free movement of goods and people to be possible, the relevant controls must be carried out as stipulated by Schengen legislation within the Schengen area, and as required by customs legislation when a territory is part of the Customs Union.”
He said he would meet with Campo mayors on October 9 to brief them on the progress of the negotiation, and the following day with organisations representing cross-border workers and businesses.