EU ministers authorize the start of negotiations on Gibraltar

The Council today (5 October) adopted a decision authorizing the opening of negotiations for an EU-UK agreement in respect of Gibraltar, as well as the negotiating directives. This will be the basis for the European Commission’s negotiations with the UK.

The most contentious issue will be freedom of movement and border management, more than 15,000 people live in Spain and work in Gibraltar, making up around 50% of Gibraltar’s workforce. The territory welcomes around 10 million tourists per year, and accounts for around a quarter of its economy.

Chief Minister Fabien Picardo (Socialist Labour Party) was meant to be hosting an evening at this week’s Conservative Party conference, but was unable to attend because he has contracted COVID-19. Nevertheless, he thanks the British Prime Minister Boris Johnson for giving “a barnstorming speech in support of ‘The Rock!’”.

Gibraltar was not included in the scope of the EU-UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement. The European Commission presented its proposal for negotiating guidelines on 20 July. At the time, then Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, said that he could not negotiate on this basis as it would undermine the UK's sovereignty over Gibraltar: "We have consistently showed pragmatism and flexibility in the search for arrangements that work for all sides, and we are disappointed that this has not been reciprocated. We urge the EU to think again."

The UK’s Chief Negotiator with the EU, Lord Frost, has recently threatened to trigger Article 16 of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol (NIP) in early November, if proposals the UK has made in a “command paper” do not lead to a renegotiation of the NIP. The Commission is unlikely to respond positively to the UK’s hectoring approach, which also adds tensions to UK-EU relations even before negotiations with Gibraltar commence.

It is foreseen that Spain, as the neighbouring Schengen member state, will be responsible as regards the European Union for the implementation of the Schengen agreement. The Commission acknowledges that with regard to external border control, member states can require technical and operational support from Frontex. Spain has already expressed its full intention to ask Frontex for assistance. The territory's Chief Minister has already said that this is how the border entry and exit points will likely be managed.

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