Gibraltar issues FINAL ultimatum to ‘hostile’ Spain as Brexit row reaches fever pitch
Gibraltar is set to face “crunch” talks with Spain and the EU as it issues its final ultimatum to Spain amid a row over its British sovereignty.
The British overseas territory’s deputy Chief Minister has said Gibraltar is gearing up to challenge a post-Brexit treaty.
Spain and Gibraltar’s relationship has changed since the UK left the EU in 2020.
But since it is no longer in the Schengen Travel Area, Gibraltar is blocked from free movement to and from EU countries.
Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph Garcia warned 2024 “will be a year of many challenges.”
But added that efforts continue to strike a deal “which will govern our future relationship with the European Union, and with our closest EU neighbour Spain.”
“The coming weeks are expected to be crunch time here,” he told the Gibraltar Chronicle.
“It is true that there have already been numerous self-imposed deadlines in the past which have come and gone.
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“However, the European Parliament is set to dissolve itself with a view to new elections in June, and effectively a caretaker Commission will be in place until a new one takes office in the autumn.
“All this means that the negotiations cannot continue forever. Time is running out and 2024 will, at some point, see Gibraltar reach a fork in the road.”
He added that Gibraltar either agrees a way forward “protected by a treaty” or should “settle down to the hard reality of life without one”.
“The overriding consideration in the conclusion of a treaty will be that there is no crossing of our red lines on sovereignty and jurisdiction,” Garcia said.
“Both Chief Minister Fabian Picardo and I have made clear that this is never going to happen. There will be no treaty otherwise.
“Indeed, the United Kingdom too has said that it will continue to remain firm on the question of sovereignty. So if we manage to conclude a treaty, you can rest assured that it will be safe, secure and beneficial for us all.
“We will simply not support it if it does not meet this criteria.
“The four parties involved, Gibraltar, the United Kingdom, Spain and the European Union each had their own views, interests and policies to defend as the detailed negotiations have progressed.
“The final product that may emerge will obviously be the result of those many different positions thrown into the melting pot.
“One prize within our grasp is a potential transformation in the relationship with our neighbours away from hundreds of years of conflict and confrontation towards a new one without frontier queues, as a result of a common travel area with the Schengen zone.”