Spain Gloats It Has Been Given Control of Gibraltar’s Borders as Part of Brexit Deal

Gibraltar & El Campo
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We have a new foreign minister in Spain. The effect of this change, on the ongoing position engaging Gibraltar at Brexit, is not likely to be felt. Many indicators point to the improbability of any fundamental derailing of the process already begun.

On Saturday, Pedro Sanchez, the PSOE Spanish President, announced the appointment of Jóse Manuel Albares. He replaces Arancha González Laya.

NO NOVICE TO GIBRALTAR ISSUE

Mr. Albares seems, in his prior appointments, to have already been involved in matters engaging Gibraltar. Accordingly, he does not come in as a novice to where Spain and the UK find themselves over Gibraltar today.

He seems rather to stand in a strong position to be able to continue the process started before his appointment. Indeed, it was started by Alfonso Dastis, the PP Spanish foreign secretary, who preceded even Ms. González Laya, which itself is a sign of institutional commitments on the part of the ministry of foreign affairs.

SPAIN’S POSITION DEFINED

More importantly, the Spanish position concerning Gibraltar’s future relationship with the EU is already broadly agreed. That agreement is public. It is contained in the framework agreement arrived at midnight on the 31st December 2020.

It is that process which is to be continued.

FRAMEWORK LEADS TO EU WIDE TREATY

In his speech to Parliament, in mid-January this year, the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo opened saying, “… we have reached an in principle framework agreement with the United Kingdom and Spain for a potential treaty between the United Kingdom and the European Union to govern the future relationship between the EU and Gibraltar.”

Importantly, this statement confirms that Spain has agreed with the UK over Gibraltar where the EU is concerned. It puts Spain and the UK on the same side, within the parameters of that framework agreement, to go forward together for the EU and the UK to reach a treaty on how the EU and Gibraltar will interact in the future.

What is to come, as Mr. Picardo says, is a negotiation between the EU and the UK for a treaty involving how and what will be Gibraltar’s relationship with the EU. That being so, the participation of Mr. Albares will be in a capacity of one of 27 member states of the EU, but him working, in that capacity, within a framework already agreed by his PSOE Government.

EU WILL NOT LET SPAIN DOWN

Certainly, we still wait patiently for the EU negotiating mandate. There is undoubtedly huge potential for the EU to raise complex issues within that negotiating mandate, which will need to be worked through before arriving at a treaty.

It would be unusual, however, and a slap in the face to Spain, if those issues, raised by Spain’s club, the EU, were incompatible with the framework agreement. That is not how the EU works. The EU will plough a course for itself, but that course will be carefully worked out within the furrows permitted by what its member/members, in this case, Spain, have publicly agreed.

SPAIN WILL NOT EMBARRASS EU

Reciprocally, it would be wrong for Spain, an EU member state, to place the EU in an embarrassing place by changing that which it has done in the framework agreement, simply because there has been a change in the identity of the foreign minister. That is not how international relations and diplomacy works.

In international relations, there is a momentum towards conformity to that which has been progressed by predecessors; absent the ability to change these without consequences on others in one’s own club, in this case, the EU.

ALBARES’ HISTORY POINTS TO NO CHANGE

The likelihood of continuation without change, on the Gibraltar Brexit front, is magnified by the history of Mr. Albares’ public career, and the reason for the change in the Ministry. `

That change was not propelled by Gibraltar. It was driven by the acts of Ms. González Laya concerning Morocco.

Mr. Albares is an experienced diplomat, although he put that career to one side in 2015 to join Mr. Sanchez’s team. He went back to a career as a diplomat following the PSOE lack of success at the polls, but with a strong desire to return to Mr. Sanchez’s side on being summonsed, which he did on being called, in 2018.

In 2018, Mr. Albares became PSOE Government Secretary General for International Affairs. A post which would have involved him in the ongoing matters relating to Gibraltar. Following a spell in this position he returned to Paris, as Spanish ambassador to France.

All that is evidence that, politically, he is an avid supporter and strongly loyal to Mr. Sanchez. Mr. Sanchez is publicly committed to the policy towards Gibraltar as is envisaged by the framework agreement.

PRESIDENT AND FOREIGN MINISTER STAND TOGETHER

He is now the Spanish Foreign Minister. In that capacity he has the full support and confidence of Mr. Sanchez to see matters over Gibraltar through, and to resolve/dissolve the row with Morocco. He stands alone in that position, but together with, and as the lone advisor to, Mr. Sanchez on foreign and international matters.

As foreign minister, he has the responsibility to support Mr. Sanchez in seeing the forthcoming negotiations between the EU and the UK on Gibraltar through. All points to him participating in these within the terms of the framework agreement. So, all change at the Spanish foreign ministry points to no or little change over Gibraltar in the next months.

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No referendum on a treaty with the EU over Gibraltar, as some are demanding, is called for. Gibraltar’s elected representatives, the GSLP Government, are fully involved in all discussions with Spain and the EU about Gibraltar.

In that process, the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, and his GSLP Government, have agreed a framework agreement. They must take responsibility at the next general election for and the consequences of their acts.

Now, Hugh Elliott, British Ambassador to Spain, has repeated, what all parties, including the Government, have said, namely, that this framework should be converted “… into a treaty, faithfully following what was agreed…”.

MATTERS ARE ALREADY AGREED

The UK position, as outlined by Mr. Elliott, reflects that of the Government, who, the Ambassador says “… is totally involved in these conversations…,” leading to the framework agreement with Spain.

Further, he admits that they have all “… had many preparatory conversations…” to turn that framework into a treaty.

The Government agreed the framework agreement, it is participating in ongoing discussions, the commitment is to faithfully follow the agreed framework. That being so, the call for a referendum is dispensed with, as matters are already agreed by the GSLP, and so precluded by that agreement.

Matters surrounding Gibraltar’s ongoing relations with the EU are conditional, only, on the requirement that any treaty faithfully follows the framework agreement. That is despite so much being left open still, with only parameters and objectives identified.

The responsibility for the framework agreement, and any treaty that will come out of it, rests, already, fully, and squarely, on the shoulders of Mr. Picardo, and our other elected GSLP MPs.

A MULTI-DIMENSIONAL AGREEMENT

Any treaty, like the framework agreement, is not, in any event, a two-dimensional decision process or document. It is multi-dimensional. It will deal with a variety of complex issues at several levels, with consensus reached following detailed negotiation.

To decide acceptance or rejection in a referendum would do no justice to the negotiation. Any treaty reached is not suitable for such a binary “yes” or “no” route.

GOVERNMENTS ARE ELECTED TO GOVERN

The reason we elect a government every four years is precisely to empower it to decide matters, especially complex ones, on our behalf, and in accordance with the manifesto on which it was elected.

If a government steps out of line, the sanction available to the electorate is not to vote for it at a subsequent general election.

OPEN QUESTIONS

Two current open questions are:

Does the EU Commission (“EC”) agree with those parts of the framework agreement that are clear? And,

Is the framework agreement so definite that it can be so faithfully followed, as suggested by the UK and Gibraltar?

It seems that “no” answers both those questions right now.

That being so what precisely does Mr. Elliott mean when he alludes to “faithfully” following the framework agreement?

MANY OPEN ISSUES

The framework agreement leaves many an issue open.

It is clear mainly on the position that both the UK and Spain take on sovereignty and jurisdiction; they each reserve their respective positions.

However, according to the framework, the part that Spain will play is large. A reality that both our Chief Minister and the GSLP play down.

It has been agreed that, due to Spain being a member of Schengen, Spain, and not the UK or Gibraltar, will be responsible to the EU in Gibraltar to apply the requirements of any acquis reached, the Schengen Borders Code, and the protection of external limits.

Spain, however, will for four years seek operational assistance from Frontex. Exactly what this means and how it will work is left open and unsaid. But, if any side is unhappy, any treaty will be ended, following unspecified consultations.

Ending any treaty will bring consequences to Gibraltar. Should or can Gibraltar redirect its economy in those four years to meet that eventuality? The difficulties engaged in doing that, and the market forces against it, are apparent today. It is these, and others, that are now driving Gibraltar’s impetus for a treaty.

On mobility of persons, there is an intention expressed that those relevant parts of the “Schengen acquis” will be applied.

Gibraltar will first decide on immigration eligibility to enter; then Spain will decide on entry into Schengen, with both decisions being “cumulative”. The intention is clear, but other detail is left fully open. The relevant checks will be carried out by both at all entry points to Gibraltar.

On goods, the framework agreement leaves open agreement, on a “bespoke” basis. It does, however, require that the way forward must include an adaptation conforming to the EU’s custom’s union and the application of “substantially” the same customs and excise duties and VAT. Agreement at treaty level, on this front, is necessary, however, if the border fence is to be brought down, as Spain keeps boasting it will.

Other issues that are subject to final agreement are, tobacco, alcohol, and fuel, which will require there to be established a “level playing field”.

Equivalence on the environment and cooperation on enforcement is sought also.

The establishment of an undefined ‘cohesions’ fund covering training skills and employment in Gibraltar and the Campo is mentioned.

Undefined equality of treatment of cross-border workers on the same basis as nationals is referred to.

Undefined coordination of social security on a basis ‘similar’ to that included in the EU-UK Withdrawal Agreement is another unspecified aim.

EU’S STANCE REMAINS UNKNOWN

We will not know the EC’s position on the proposed treaty with the UK over Gibraltar until it publishes its negotiating mandate, seemingly next week.

The very need for a negotiating mandate from and a negotiation with the EU shows that there is still much unsaid and needing to be agreed, despite the framework. That being so, what does the intention to “faithfully” follow the framework agreement mean? Very little it would seem.

“FRAMEWORK” DESCRIBES WHERE WE ARE NOW

All in all, it is fine for Gibraltar and the UK to insist on faithfully following the framework agreement, but there is an undeniable reality, which is that the use of the word ‘framework’. That is the main and most accurate description of where we are today.

It is very much an ‘in principle’ agreement. One that outlines what still needs to be agreed in its full complexities and details for a treaty to be signed. What exactly following it faithfully means is difficult to understand right now.

The framework agreement simply goes to summarise, as between Gibraltar the UK and Spain, not the EU, the complexities that need to be overcome to reach any treaty with the EU. It goes to show the number of complex layers that cross-reference each other, which need yet to be negotiated and agreed, including those brought into play by the involvement of the EU, and its “interest”.

CONSEQUENCES TO GIBRALTAR AND THE GSLP

The above serve to demonstrate issues that render a referendum incompatible with the reality of the destination that the GSLP, as our government, need to arrive at and take responsibility for. The consequences, to Gibraltar, of failure to arrive at a treaty do not bear thinking about. Spain and the EU must be alert to that.

The success or failure of the GSLP, coming from its agreement to any treaty, will be for the electorate to decide at a general election. It should always be remembered, however, that once signed, a treaty is a one-way street. No new government will be constitutionally permitted to reverse or break such a treaty.

A treaty, governing Gibraltar, will be entered into by the UK. Once entered, compliance with it will constitutionally fall within the Governor’s responsibility, it being an external affair.

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Spanish State Secretary hopes New Year agreement is accurately reflected in...

The State Secretary for the European Union in the Spanish Foreign Ministry has met with Campo Mayors today to assure them the region remains a priority for the Spanish Government.

Juan Gonzalez Barba has made the visit ahead of the European Commission publishing a draft mandate for the negotiation of the EU / UK Treaty next week . The journey so far, he said, has not been easy and it has taken some convincing for the EU to get to this position.

Two of the mayors briefly took to social media to announce that pending a treaty, the Spanish Foreign Office aims to remove frontier controls between Gibraltar and Spain early next year.

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3rd August 2021

A Spanish Socialist MEP has expressed confidence that agreement can be reached on Gibraltar’s post-Brexit relations with the bloc despite “seemingly irreconcilable positions”.

Writing in The Parliament magazine, a respected Brussels publication that is widely read by EU lawmakers and officials, Nacho Sanchez Amor said that despite deep differences on the issue of sovereignty, the UK and Spain had always sought pragmatic solutions to practical problems affecting communities on either side of the border.

But he cautioned too that the UK and Gibraltar should “re-read” the European Commission’s proposed mandate published in July, just as they had called on the EU to “re-think” its position.

“With a common objective, of avoiding the harshest effects of a simple conversion of this area into an external border of the Union, it is now time to shape Gibraltar's future border relationship with the EU, expressly conditioned by Spain's recognition of a logical right of veto over Brussels' decisions and by the previous agreement reached in December with a British delegation that included representatives of the colony,” he wrote.

Continued at the link.

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The European border and coastguard agency Frontex, together with the Spanish police, have been running a pilot project at the frontier.

The biometric system would be required in the event of a Brexit ‘no-deal’ for Gibraltar.

According to the newspaper Diario Area, the new system offers double border controls through the use of facial recognition and finger prints as well as travel documentation.

This is being used for pedestrians. For those driving into Gibraltar a tablet is being tested that can also scan passports and finger prints and recognise faces.

The system is being tested on an ad hoc basis and if no treaty is signed, will be required to be introduced next year.
The Spanish Ministry of the Interior has made no official announcement on this pilot project but had previously confirmed to GBC the infrastructure at the frontier had been upgraded to include many of these security features.

Measures to allow free movement at the frontier are in place until October.

Frontex together with Spanish police running pilot project at frontier

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23rd September 2021

Spain’s Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez, told the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Wednesday that his government was committed to creating “an area of social and economic prosperity” between Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar based on the New Year’s Eve agreement.

In a wide-ranging address, he updated the international community on the progress of talks toward a treaty between the UK and the EU on the Rock’s future relationship with the bloc.

But he said too that any final agreement must respect UN doctrine and Spain’s legal position on Gibraltar.

“On December 31st, 2020, in the context of the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union, Spain and the United Kingdom came to a bilateral understanding regarding Gibraltar,” Mr Sanchez told the UN.

“This understanding must serve to lay the foundations for the future relationship of this territory with the European Union and we trust that an agreement will soon be reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom regarding Gibraltar.”

“This agreement must fully respect United Nations doctrine regarding said territory, with which Spain is fully aligned.”

“It must also respect the legal position of my country as regards sovereignty and jurisdiction concerning Gibraltar.”

“Our goal is to work towards creating an area of social and economic prosperity that encompasses the entire area of Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar.”

The reference to “jurisdiction” is unusual – Spain usually talks just of sovereignty when it refers to Gibraltar at the UN – but may reflect the complexity of a proposed treaty under which Spain would be responsible to its EU partners for the application of the Schengen rules in Gibraltar should an agreement be reached.

But Mr Sanchez’ commitment to the New Year’s Eve agreement will be welcomed by the UK and Gibraltar and comes at a critical time in the Rock’s post-Brexit relations with Spain and the wider EU.

The “bilateral understanding” referred to by Mr Sanchez is the New Year’s Eve framework agreement that the UK and Spain, together with Gibraltar, negotiated as the basis for talks on a UK/EU treaty for Gibraltar.

The EU has yet to formally adopt its negotiating position for those talks and a draft mandate presented by the European Commission in July is currently under discussion in Brussels.

The UK and Gibraltar have both rejected that draft as the basis for talks, arguing that it goes further than the framework agreement in many aspects and is “unacceptable”.

On Wednesday, the UK’s Europe Minister Wendy Morton said the UK had urged the EU to make changes to its “disproportionate” draft position, making “absolutely clear” that sovereignty was off the table and that the UK would stand by Gibraltar whether or not there was a deal.

“We really encourage the EU to address what we feel are the flaws in the draft mandate,” Ms Morton told MPs on a House of Commons committee.

“And we want to see them move quickly now with the process of adopting a mandate that actually reflects the UK-Spain framework that we’ve already agreed.”

Earlier this week, Spain’s State Secretary for the European Union, Juan González-Barba Pera, said Madrid was pushing for changes in the negotiating guidelines to include a specific reference to Frontex, one of the key issues for the UK and Gibraltar.

In the rest of his speech, Mr Sanchez said Spain was committed to international efforts on security, equality and climate change.

He advocated a defence of democracy “…as the sole alternative in the face of any totalitarian, exclusionary and intolerant movement.”

He defended too of international cooperation and multilateralism “…as the only way forward to provide real solutions to the challenges the world is facing today.”

On Covid-19, he called for greater coordinated international efforts to ensure vaccinations were available to all countries around the world.

“No one is going to be safe until everyone is safe,” he said.

He reflected on security issues in Afghanistan and other hotspots including the Sahel, but focused heavily too on what he said was the greatest common challenge facing all countries in the world.

“Without question, the climate emergency is the overriding crisis of our time,” he said.

“There is no room left for denial.”

“The reality of climate change is something we witness on a daily basis and the consequences are increasingly dramatic.”

“Major wildfires, chronic droughts, floods and unprecedented weather events are diminishing our resources, dramatically changing our way of life and causing irreversible loss of biodiversity.”

Climate change, he added, required “shared multilateral responses at the highest level”.

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5th October 2021
The European Council on Tuesday adopted the bloc's negotiating position for a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar, clearing the way for talks to commence.

The mandate, which was the subject of weeks of technical talks between the European Commission and the Council, was approved last week by EU ambassadors and adopted today during a Council meeting of EU economic and financial affairs ministers.

The negotiating mandate itself has not been published, but all the indications are that a number of changes have been made to a draft position published by the European Commission in July.

The Chronicle understands they include a specific reference to the role of Frontex in the application of any Schengen checks inside Gibraltar.

The Commission’s draft mandate received a cold response from the UK and Gibraltar in July, both of which raised numerous concerns including the absence of any reference to Frontex.

“The Council today adopted a decision authorising the opening of negotiations for an EU-UK agreement in respect of Gibraltar, as well as the negotiating directives,” the Council said in a statement confirming the adoption of the mandate.

“On this basis, the European Commission can now begin formal negotiations with the United Kingdom in respect of Gibraltar.”

“The aim of the negotiations is to establish a broad and balanced agreement between the EU and the UK in respect of Gibraltar in view of the particular geographical situation and specificity of Gibraltar.”

“The envisaged agreement between the EU and the UK in respect of Gibraltar should be without prejudice to the issues of sovereignty and jurisdiction.”

Gibraltar’s Attorney General, Michael Llamas, said negotiations could commence as soon as this month, although a timetable has yet to be published.

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The EU Gibexit negotiating mandate, just published, requires that Spain monitors entry and exit through Gibraltar airport and port, but makes clear that this does not mean Gibraltar accedes to the Schengen Acquis. Although, for the first four years, Spain will seek the assistance of Frontex to physically apply those controls.

Additionally, the mandate requires that Spain takes over border vigilance of the waters adjoining Gibraltar, and the elimination of unfair competition, including on bunkering.

We await the reaction of the Gibraltar and UK Governments to the mandate, but the absence of fundamental changes from the draft EU Commission mandate does not augur well for talks, were Gibraltar to have a real choice anyway.

Continued at link.

The EU Ministers have given the go ahead to a negotiating mandate, which is strangely being kept secret.

That secrecy could be due to fear of criticism, as now agreeing to negotiate, following the initial abject rejection by the UK and Gibraltar of the EC European Commission (EC) draft mandate, points to a climbdown by our GSLP Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo.

What we get now is platitudes from Mr. Picardo, to the effect that the negotiations will be ‘hard and tricky’, but that no concession on ‘sovereignty, jurisdiction and control’ will be made.

That last phrase continues, however, to be undefined by any of our politicians. It needs definition in manner suggested below, especially considering the current secrecy of the EU’s position yet the agreement by Gibraltar to sit at the table to negotiate.

SECRECY INDICATIVE OF CLIMBDOWN?

The secrecy raises the question whether it is motivated because the initial rejection by the UK and Gibraltar of the EC draft mandate has weakened their negotiating position.

That draft mandate, published last July, was immediately criticised by the UK and Gibraltar as conflicting with the 31st December 2020 Framework Agreement with Spain, and so it not being capable of forming a basis for negotiation.

Accordingly, if the finalised EU mandate does not greatly change that position, the UK and Gibraltar now agreeing to negotiate puts them both on the back foot, and a weaker position, in the negotiation that will follow, than it would have been had they not rejected the draft EC mandate outright so immediately.

What has changed to allow now for negotiations to start cannot be known whilst the EU mandate is kept secret.

Continued at link.

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7th October 2021
Any UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar must “honour the principles” of the New Year’s Eve agreement reached by the UK, Spain and Gibraltar, the chairman of a House of Commons select committee said this week, adding that “loss of sovereignty and perpetual alignment with EU rules” cannot be the “price of the deal”.

Conservative MP Bill Cash was reacting after the EU approved the negotiating guidelines for treaty talks earlier this week, clearing the way for negotiations to commence.

The mandate, which was the subject of weeks of technical talks between the European Commission and the Council, was approved last week by EU ambassadors and formally adopted during a Council meeting of EU economic and financial affairs ministers.

The final negotiating mandate has not been published, even though a draft of the document had been released earlier this year.

But all the indications are that a number of changes have been made to the draft position published by the European Commission in July, include adding a specific reference to the role of Frontex in the application of any Schengen checks inside Gibraltar.

The UK and Gibraltar had rejected the Commission’s draft mandate in July, saying it went further than the framework agreed on New Year’s Eve.

“A deal with the EU on Gibraltar must honour the principles agreed by the UK, Spain and Gibraltar in December – securing resources and the livelihoods of workers crossing the border every day,” said Sir Bill Cash, the Chairman of the European Scrutiny Committee in the Commons.

“This is the best and quickest route to a deal before the end of the year.”

“We’re happy to see the EU has reconsidered the entirely unacceptable notion that Spanish border agents would carry out checks on Gibraltan [sic] soil.”

“For the sake of everyone in Gibraltar and Spanish citizens working there, we hope for a speedy conclusion of talks, but loss of sovereignty and perpetual alignment with EU rules cannot be the price of the deal.”

“I strongly support the position of the UK Government and the Government of Gibraltar and my Committee will continue to enquire into this matter over the coming weeks and months.”

In a report last month, the European Scrutiny Committee expressed fears Gibraltar’s burgeoning bunkering industry could stall if proposed EU changes to energy tax rules were adopted and applied to the Rock.

The Gibraltar Government said the committee’s report had been prepared without its input, despite the explicit references to Gibraltar, and was “unrealistic”.

It said the committee’s concerns were “unfounded”.

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8th October 2021

Negotiations for a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar’s post-Brexit future with the bloc will start on Monday in Brussels.

The news was revealed by Maros Sefcovic, the vice president of the European Commission, on Twitter on Friday morning after he spoke to UK Foreign Secretary Liz Truss.

Mr Sefcovic said he looked forward to “constructive discussions” in respect of Gibraltar.

A good first call with UK Foreign Secretary @trussliz today. Looking forward to constructive :eu::uk:discussions in respect of Gibraltar. Following the @EUCouncil adoption of the mandate, the first round of negotiations to take place in Brussels on 11 October.

— Maroš Šefčovič:eu: (@MarosSefcovic) October 8, 2021

Earlier this week, the European Council adopted the bloc’s negotiating position for the talks.

The EU said its aim was to negotiate a “broad and balanced agreement” that reflected the Rock’s unique circumstances “…without prejudice to the issues of sovereignty and jurisdiction.”

The EU’s final negotiating mandate has not been published but a number of changes have been made to the draft position published by the European Commission in July.

The changes include adding a specific reference to the role of Frontex in the application of any Schengen checks inside Gibraltar.

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The Government says it's pleased with the progress made in the first round of talks between the UK and the EU. In a statement it says that although the parties have been presenting their respective, and sometimes contrary views, on how best to implement the New Years Eve Agreement, the relevant exchanges have been pursued in a mutually constructive and positive spirit. It looks forward to this continuing engagement in coming weeks in future rounds of talks.

Meanwhile the El Pais Newspaper says discussions are scheduled to take place every three weeks until December, when the negotiations over the Rock's future relationship with the EU will end.

The Spanish newspaper says, however, that many in Brussels believe the negotiations will be extended beyond then.

According to the Spanish national newspaper, the agenda for this week's meetings include the establishment of both sides' starting points in the negotiations, and the clarification of any doubts that may arise.

El Pais says this week's meeting in Brussels, held at a technical level, will be followed by another in London in three weeks' time, and then every three weeks until December, although sources in Brussels suggest negotiations are likely to go beyond that.

El Pais quotes sections 15 to 25 of the European Council's negotiating mandate 68 point annex, which it says suggests that Spanish Border Guards will be in charge of the control of passengers at the entrance to Gibraltar through the airport and the port, and that it will be Spain who decides whether visas and residence permits are granted to arrivals from third countries.

It speculates that the absence to any references to the European border agency Frontex is likely to have irritated the UK.

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Recent talks included the topic of "mobility of persons" -

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Brexit: Negotiations on Gibraltar start this week with talks on "mobility of persons"

The talks on "mobility of persons" are due to take place tomorrow, with both the EU and UK presenting their preferred model, along with a "general discussion" on workers' rights later in the afternoon, according to a Council of the EU document obtained by Statewatch.

A version of the negotiating directives for the talks produced on 30 September outlined the EU's intention that Spanish officials would be granted powers to conduct border controls in Gibraltar, although on 5 October the Financial Times reported that the EU would instead seek to give this power to Frontex officials:

"Diplomats told the FT that at a meeting of EU ambassadors on Tuesday, member states agreed instead to propose that officials from Frontex, the pan-EU border force, are stationed at Gibraltar’s port and airport alongside local officials."

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20th October 2021

Spain’s Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albares, insisted on Tuesday that his government hoped a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar could be sealed “before the end of the year”, as he told reporters that negotiations were “following their course” and there was “nothing to worry about”.

Speaking in Madrid after a meeting with the Campo de Gibraltar mayors, Mr Albares expressed his government’s “clear commitment” to negotiating a treaty that allowed for shared prosperity on both sides of the border.

Mr Albares was repeating statements he had already made earlier in the week on the sidelines of a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Brussels on Monday.

“Our desire is to have an agreement before the end of the year that provides guarantees and stability to all the Campo de Gibraltar,” Mr Albares said.

Asked where the main areas of disagreement lay after the start of talks earlier this month, Mr Albares said there were “no difficulties”.

Earlier this week, the UK Foreign Secretary, Liz Truss, said the EU’s opening position in the treaty talks “directly conflicts” with the New Year’s Eve political agreement in “a number of areas”.

In a written statement to the House of Commons, Ms Truss acknowledged that the EU negotiating mandate had been changed to include a reference to the role that Frontex would take in implementing any Schengen checks inside Gibraltar arising from a treaty.

But she said too that there were still numerous issues to address as part of the talks.

In Madrid on Tuesday, Mr Albares sought to play that down.

“Everything takes its time…and the negotiations are following their course, so at this time there’s nothing to worry about,” he said.

Mr Albares repeated too earlier statements that tension between the UK and the EU on the Northern Ireland Protocol “shouldn’t” spill over into talks on Gibraltar.

“A small area like Gibraltar is nothing like Northern Ireland, which covers a very extensive zone,” he said.
“As such, it shouldn’t [have an impact].”

“In any event, these are two separate negotiations and we are emphasising that.”

“So there shouldn’t be a collision between the two.”

The Spanish minister said that while Spain was confident an agreement could be reached, it was also preparing contingency plans in the event of no deal, much as the UK and Gibraltar are doing.

“Plan A is to achieve an agreement that is mutually beneficial,” he told reporters.

“But obviously we are ready for any eventuality.”

Mr Albares was also asked whether plans to develop the eastside reclamation plot, announced by the Gibraltar Government earlier this week, clashed with commitments set out in the Memorandums of Understanding agreed as part of the Withdrawal Agreement.

“We are analysing all possible situations that could arise and what we have to do is guarantee that those memorandums are later transposed into the agreement, so that what are currently contingency measures become definitive,” he said.
“All circumstances are being discussed and negotiated.”

The meeting in Madrid was welcomed by the Campo mayors, who secured commitments from the minister for investment in the area.

Juan Lozano, the president of the Mancomunidad de Municipios del Campo de Gibraltar, said the mayors had been briefed on the progress of the talks, which Mr Albares told them were on “a good track”.

He said negotiators aimed to reach a deal by the end of the year, although “it could be sooner”.

Mr Lozano acknowledged the impact that no deal could have on the Campo and said “we won’t get rid of this uncertainty until a deal is signed”.

“I’m focusing on the positives, which are that the Spanish Government, the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, is putting sparing no effort so that at the end of this, this treaty does away with that fence that separates Gibraltar and the Campo for good that,” he said.

“For this to be an area of shared prosperity as a result of this Brexit treaty and for whatever funding the EU and the UK are willing to put on the table for training and employment become a reality.”

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FRONTEX OR NO FRONTEX?

http://www.gibraltarpanorama.gi/177086

*Spanish security sources say that Frontex would be point of conflict and want Spanish police and guardia civil at the land frontier

by JOE GARCIA
With a Frontex entry exit pilot scheme now concluded in what Frontex sources say is Spain, a warning shot has been fired from Spanish security circles, which evinces that all is not well in the negotiations now ongoing about a Brexit deal for Gibraltar affecting the frontier, the airport and the port.

'Having Frontex at the Gibraltar frontier will be a point of conflict,' members of Spain's security forces have warned.
It is obvious that there are serious differences of opinion in the Spanish front over what should be installed at the land frontier which would be against Spanish interests. Right-wing Spanish sources, and now elements in the security forces, are diametrically opposed to other Spanish involved in the current negotiations who are taking a softer line on Gibraltar.
They see Spain as losing an opportunity to claim joint sovereignty, and demand that Spain's National Police and Guardia Civil should continue to exert controls at the land frontier as at present, as such access point is linked to Spanish territory.

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22nd November 2021
Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares, said the EU’s “aspiration’ remains to conclude a UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar by the end of the year.

Mr Albares was speaking on Friday during a session of the EU mixed committee in the Spanish Parliament and ahead of the next round of treaty negotiations.

A European Commission official told the Chronicle that negotiators from the UK – including Gibraltar – and the Commission are scheduled to meet in Brussels next week for the third round of talks.

There will be at least one more round of talks after that before Christmas.

“The negotiating calendar proposed by the Commission aspires to conclude these negotiations before the end of the year, though this aspiration does not depend exclusively on the Commission,’ Mr Albares told the parliamentary committee in Madrid.

Mr Albares gave scant details on the progress of the negotiations, other than to restate the oft-repeated mantra of an agreement that will benefit communities on both sides of the border.

“The new agreement is also very focused on solving many practical issues…and what we seek is to create an area of shared prosperity,” he said.

“The mayors of the Campo area, including some from the PP, share this goal widely.”

“What we also want is for the agreement to benefit workers and companies in the area, and this goal is widely shared by those the mayors who represent the interests of the 270,000 Spaniards who live there.”

During the session, he was asked whether Spanish officers would carry out any immigration checks in Gibraltar as a result of any agreement between the UK and the EU.

The New Year’s Eve political framework – which the UK, Gibraltar and Spain say must form the basis of any treaty - envisaged Gibraltar forming part of the Schengen area, with Spain as neighbouring country taking responsibility on behalf of the EU for Schengen immigration checks in Gibraltar, but Frontex officers carrying out the actual physical controls on the ground, at least for the first four years.

“The framework agreement states clearly that the United Kingdom will not conduct Schengen controls and this solution has been included in the Commission’s mandate, which clearly reaffirms what Spain’s role will be,” Mr Albares said.

“Spain - and this is reflected in many points of the mandate - will have control over the [Schengen] border controls, because, in the end, that is the goal.”

“This control will not be carried out by the United Kingdom, rather it will be carried out by Spain.”

During his intervention, Mr Albares reiterated his government’s commitment to the prosperity of the Campo de Gibraltar and the “270,000 Spanish men and women who live there”.

“This commitment is reflected in the state budget for 2022, which foresees an investment in the Campo of 143 million euros, double the budget for 2021,” he said.

“But it is also reflected in the close attention we are giving to the negotiations between the United Kingdom and the European Commission in relation to Gibraltar.”

Mr Albares’ upbeat messaging on the treaty came in the same week that the European Scrutiny Committee of the House of Commons published a letter from Wendy Morton, the UK Minister for the European Neighbourhood and the Americas, in which she revealed further details of key areas of concern with the EU’s negotiating mandate.

The letter, which was dated October 21 and was sent after the first round of talks but ahead of the second, highlighted concerns on residence permits, visas, asylum, law enforcement and the movement of goods.

Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, alongside Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia and Attorney General Michael Llamas, will appear before the European Scrutiny Committee on Wednesday

In the session, MPs will explore Gibraltar’s position on the EU’s negotiating objectives, plans for EU agency Frontex to police the border with Spain as well as preparations if no deal is reached.

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Schengen Entry Will Boost Gibraltar Connectivity, Tourism Minister Vijay Daryanani Says

If the talks are successful, it is hoped that Gibraltar will become part of the Schengen area, with Spain taking responsibility for Schengen immigration checks. Frontex, the pan-EU border force, would carry out land checks on the ground.

Daryanani said Gibraltar’s planned entry into the Schengen Area would benefit communities on both sides of the border, enabling the territory’s people to travel freely and provide an economic boost for the Campo de Gibraltar region on the Spanish mainland.

He said an agreement would make the territory more attractive for European carriers, allowing Gibraltar International (GIB) to expand its route network.

“It is very important, not only for Gibraltar but also for the shared prosperity that might be created in the hinterland into Spain,” Daryanani told Routes. “European airlines are very interested in Gibraltar because it’s a gateway to the region—there isn’t another airport withing a 50-km radius.”

More at link.

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http://www.gibraltarpanorama.gi/177205

by RYAN ASQUEZ
Concerns about Frontex were prominent during the session of the European Scrutiny Committee at the House of Commons. Conservative MP David Jones asked the Chief Minister whether it was contradictory to say that the framework agreed last year did not touch upon sovereignty, jurisdiction and control when Frontex officials would have to operate within Gibraltar’s territory and require Gibraltar to apply ‘a substantial body’ of EU law.

The Chief Minister did not agree with this assessment, citing the example of the agreement between the United Kingdom and France whereby French gendarmes at King’s Cross station in London can allow advanced clearance for those entering France through there. He explained that this did not compromise British sovereignty over the station: ‘it is to create an administrative permission set out in an international treaty where the UK permits a thing and is able in future to undo that permission in the exercise of its sovereignty’.
With regards to Gibraltar, arrivals at the Airport would have to be granted permission to enter Gibraltar – exclusively by the Gibraltar Borders and Coastguard Agency – and also permission to enter the Schengen Area by Frontex. ‘And if you have that permission you are then able to roam into Spain at will and from Spain into the rest of the European Union’, he continued. ‘If we don’t have these provisions in place it’s not that you can roam into Schengen and Spain without showing your passport...You will in fact have to show your passport to the Spanish Guardia Civil at the Frontier in order to enter Spain and Schengen’.

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The Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, referred to the ability for a Gibraltar-only visa to be issued, following a treaty to allow fluidity of movement of persons from Gibraltar to the EU, at the border. In doing so he categorically stated that the Schengen Acquis provides for individual Schengen member states to limit their visas to the geographic area of the issuing member state. He referred to Article 25.

He also rejected suggestions that the presence of Frontex in Gibraltar undermined sovereignty, with a wrong comparison with the fact that French Gendarmes conducted passport checks on UK soil. French Gendarmes do not authorise entry into the U.K.. That is different, they do an advance check before entry into France and then Schengen is achieved physically at the moment one crosses onto French territory.

Further he suggested that an agreement with the EU over Gibraltar was possible before the end of the year, but not a treaty. That cannot be so in international relations and law. If there is agreement, there is a treaty. If there is no treaty, there is no agreement.

GIBRALTAR ONLY VISAS NEAR IMPOSSIBLE

A review of the Schengen Acquis shows that visas limited to just Gibraltar are not possible, save in very limited circumstances, namely, on humanitarian grounds, on grounds of national interest or because of international obligation” and then only on specific notification to all Schengen countries, additionally under special rules dealing with asylum applications. Logic and logistics support the conclusion that geographically limited visas are not the rule, but very much the special exception.

Once someone is in the Schengen area there are no controls or checks to prevent a person, who has been allowed entry, from crossing into another Schengen country. That is precisely the core objective of the Acquis: a person, once in, is fully free to move within and throughout that multi-national area, no checks or controls exist at any internal borders.

ATTORNEY GENERAL CLARIFICATION

It is perhaps the moment for our EU law expert, H.M. Attorney General, Michael Llamas, to bat.

He should show, with direct reference to relevant provisions, that Mr. Picardo’s evidence yesterday, to the European Scrutiny Committee of the UK House of Commons, on Gibraltar-only visas, was correct and accurate, and not mistaken.

His silence before that Committee, whilst Mr. Picardo gave that evidence, indicates that he agreed with it. If there is any inaccuracy it is Mr. Llamas’ responsibility and obligation to correct it.

One imagines that the Committee will make the necessary inquiries before finalising its report. We should not wait to be corrected then, if there is any mistake.

Additionally, if there is a misunderstanding on such a fundamental point, it goes to the core of what is being negotiated, so perhaps Mr. Llamas could explain how we could have an agreement before the end of the year, but no treaty.

AGREEMENT BUT NOT TREATY?

Continued at link.

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http://www.gibraltarpanorama.gi/177328

Instituto Cervantes to play important part in making Gibraltar Spanish

Under the headline that Gibraltar has started to be Spanish (Gibraltar empieza a ser espa?ol), a report that quotes Spanish government sources says that the opening of an Instituto Cervantes in Gibraltar is part of a Spanish plan to take over the Rock.

For this delicate mission the Spanish Government has not elected a university professor or academic to head the institute, says the report, but a diplomat. And not just anyone, but the Spanish diplomat they reckon knows most about the 300-year old Anglo-Spanish dispute and who in the 1980s was responsible for Gibraltar affairs in the Spanish Foreign Ministry in Madrid.
The principal role of Agustin Gervas will be the new courses of Spanish and other activities of the institute, "but it will not end there," says the report in the well-known Spanish news weekly El Tiempo.

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