The Foreign Minister, Jose Manuel Albaresmeets again this Thursday in Brussels with his British counterpart, David Cameron; with the chief minister of Gibraltar, Fabian Picardo; and with the vice president of the Commission responsible for relations with the United Kingdom, Maros Sefcovic. A meeting whose objective is “advance the guidelines” of the agreement on the status of the Rock after Brexit.
This is the second meeting held in this format, which It is uncomfortable for Spain for placing Gibraltar as an interlocutor at the same level as the rest. The first meeting of this type took place on April 12, but no photo or video has been published of all the interlocutors sitting at the same table. The only graphic testimony is of the four walking together.
At the April 12 meeting, the parties “recognised the important progress made on broad political lines and agreed to continue negotiations to conclude the EU-UK agreement.” “The purpose of this second meeting is to advance the main lines of an agreement that will bring prosperity, confidence, legal security and stability to the citizens of the entire Campo de Gibraltar”, as diplomatic sources have explained.
[El posible acuerdo con la UE sobre Gibraltar divide a los ‘tories’: “Disminuye la soberanía británica”]
The objective of this agreement is to demolish the Rock Fence once Brexit is completed. It is about facilitating the transit of the more than 10,000 Spanish workers who cross the border every day and creating an “area of shared prosperity.” The controls would be moved to the port and the Peñón airport and would be exercised by Frontex during a transitional period of four years.
At the April 12 meeting, The United Kingdom and the EU agreed “general political lines” of the future status of Gibraltar, covering the three most sensitive points: airport, goods and border controls. The two parties have been negotiating for three years and They have already accumulated 18 rounds of dialogue at a technical level.
However, this announcement has sparked anger among the most eurosceptic sectors of the British conservative party, which supports the Government of Rishi Sunak. A controversy that could complicate the closing of the deal.
In fact, the president of House of Commons Europe Scrutiny CommitteeBrexiteer Bill Cash, has written a letter to Cameron and Sunak in which he maintains that the draft pact that is on the table would mean “a serious diminution of UK sovereignty“.
The Committee demands to “immediately discard” the central elements of this agreement and “pause the negotiations” with Brussels.
The most eurosceptic conservatives are particularly concerned that Frontex guards may deny British and Gibraltarian nationals entry into Gibraltar, which they define as “an overseas territory of the United Kingdom.” Or that the same thing will happen with military personnel from the United Kingdom and its NATO allies who enter Gibraltar to deploy to British military installations.
The Brexiteers They also do not want the EU to register and store the biometric data of British/Gibraltar nationals within the framework of the new Entry and Exit system of the Schengen area, which will begin to operate at the end of the year. Or that the time that the British spend in Gibraltar counts towards the 90 days allowed in the EU for non-EU citizens without a visa.
Bill Cash’s letter also protests the possible CJEU oversight of Gibraltar and the dynamic alignment with EU laws, particularly those of the Schengen area, for example those that facilitate hot pursuit of criminals. “There would be few things more illustrative of diminished sovereignty than Civil Guard agents entering Gibraltar whenever they please“, he complains.
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