The Minister of Foreign Affairs, EU, and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has announced that in the coming days, he will speak with his counterpart from the United Kingdom, David Cameron, to discuss, among other topics, the pending agreement on Gibraltar. Spain hopes that it will be closed 'as soon as possible,' but without fixed deadlines.
Cameron, who joined the British government last week after seven years away from the political forefront, requested a first call to Albares on Tuesday. 'The teams are looking for the right moment,' Albares said at a press conference, also noting that both will coincide next week at the NATO ministerial summit.
The EU still needs to finalize an agreement with the United Kingdom regarding the future relationship with Gibraltar, but differences persist regarding the formula that will be applied for border controls at both the airport and the port of the Rock, a 'sine qua non' condition for it to continue being part of the Schengen Area.
'If it were up to us, that agreement would already be signed,' declared the head of Spanish diplomacy, who assured that the parties were 'very close' to the final signing before the call for early elections in Spain.
From the British side, Albares acknowledges that there is also a 'willingness' to quickly close the pending details.