The Spanish and British Governments yesterday resumed talks on Gibraltar trying to approximate positions for an agreement that will serve to guarantee “an area of prosperity” after the departure of United Kingdom of the EU and the signing of a trade agreement between the entire EU and London, which does not cover the Rock until there is a bilateral agreement with Madrid. Jose Manuel Albares and the new British head, David Cameron, spoke by phone on Monday and met yesterday on the sidelines of the NATO ministerial meeting. A meeting to give a “political boost”, without any concrete negotiation, without papers on the table and without anyone daring to say when it could be signed. It was a brief talk that seeks to reactivate the negotiations, which have been stalled for some time due to two issues: the joint use of the Airport and which officials have to carry out security checks, whether the Spanish or members of Frontex, as the English prefer.
The positions are still distant. Spain put on the table months ago a proposal that it defines as “generous, global and good”, but London does not see it that way. And neither does the European Commission. In Brussels, which managed to close both the Withdrawal Agreement and the trade agreement with the United Kingdom after years of work, they are not big admirers of David Cameron or his predecessors and negotiating colleagues. But if there is no agreement yet, say several sources consulted, it is more because of Madrid’s demands.
«We are so close that what remains are specific, specific aspects, most of it is agreed upon. It is a mantra but nothing is agreed until everything is, because what is on the table is a global agreement, of all aspects of the daily life of Gibraltar and the Campo de Gibraltar so that there is an area of shared prosperity. Albares said. “It’s about finding effective formulas for that goal that we all want,” he reiterated, without providing a “time horizon.”
In London they are more skeptical. They agree on the progress, and have celebrated that there are no major changes, something that they feared in the face of a possible change of Government, led by the PP and with Vox in the Council of Ministers, since the position on the Rock would have been different and the much more complicated understanding. But having said that, and after the break since the summer, they highlight that the differences are important. “On this nulle part,” say diplomatic sources in a phrase also recurring in Brussels. Not as close as it should be, they say, due to Spanish “obsessions.”
«There is a part that must be closed with the Commission and we are going to have elections in June for the European Parliament and shortly after a new Commission… a final point, therefore, should be the start of the campaign. But I sincerely trust that since we deal with very precise and specific aspects, we can reach a definitive and global point sooner,” Albares concluded.