20 December 2017

Bloomberg: Centuries-old Gibraltar dispute threatens Brexit progress

UK officials fear Spain will threaten to veto a Brexit transition phase if the British prime minister refuses to negotiate a separate deal with the government in Madrid that covers the disputed territory of Gibraltar.

Fears are growing among ministers in London that a new framework for the next phase of Brexit talks, due to be outlined by the European Union on Wednesday, might reignite the centuries-old arguments, a U.K. official said. May faces pressure to quickly strike a deal on transitional terms to assure U.K.-based businesses that trade rules won’t change suddenly on Brexit day in March 2019. [...]

Separate Agreement

Last week, Spanish Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy suggested his government would need to give its explicit consent to any transitional deal affecting Gibraltar. The measure would require separate negotiations between London and Madrid, he said.

Gibraltar is on the EU’s radar, according to a senior EU official familiar with the issue. Transition won’t cover Gibraltar unless there’s a separate deal between the U.K. and Spain and it’s an issue that requires a solution from both countries, the official said.

One U.K. official who asked not to be identified said British overseas territories must be included within the EU’s guidelines for negotiating an overall transitional period. To do anything else would be a contradiction in the EU’s own position, the official said. [...]

Full article on Bloomberg

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