The United Kingdom also made proposals for an agreement on Gibraltar during negotiations with the European Union

The UK has also made proposals for an agreement with the European Union that would regulate the future relationship with Gibraltar after Brexit, British sources confirmed to Europa Press, after Foreign Minister José Manuel Albarez insisted the previous day that London must respond to the proposal. Submitted by Spain. “Both the UK and the EU presented texts throughout the negotiations,” the sources said, after Paris insisted on Monday that it was up to London to provide a positive or negative response to the proposal that was put forward at the end of 2022. The Spanish minister has defended in recent months that “The ball is in the UK’s court” after Spain and the European Union presented a “balanced and generous” proposal that would allow the creation of a shared prosperity zone between the two countries. The Rock and Campo Gibraltar, which both countries aspire to. Through their response, British sources clarify that there is not a single text on the table, but rather several texts that were presented throughout the process by both London and Brussels, which is the party negotiating on behalf of the twenty-seven countries. An agreement will regulate the relationship between Gibraltar and the European Union after Britain leaves the European Union. Specifically, a new negotiating round, the eighteenth, will be held this same week. Thus, the sources also confirmed that “an agreement can only be reached by respecting the balance” of what London and Madrid agreed on New Year’s Eve 2020. This memorandum laid the foundations for the negotiations that Brussels is conducting and contemplating, among other things, the removal of the fence and the entry of Gibraltar. To the Schengen area. The Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, David Routley, pointed this out a few days ago in his speech to the British Parliament, stressing that the aim was to “protect Gibraltar’s prosperity by ensuring that people and goods can move easily” between the two countries. Rock and Campo de Gibraltar. Routley admitted that “although the negotiations were technically and politically complex, significant progress had been made and both the UK and the EU had submitted texts” during the 17 negotiating rounds and technical meetings held since October 2021. The British Foreign Secretary noted that in parallel with the negotiations With the EU, the UK has also maintained a “regular dialogue” with Spain and stressed that it is “in everyone’s interest” to conclude an agreement that “helps to ensure future prosperity” for both. In Gibraltar and in Campo. “This can be done without compromising our respective positions on sovereignty and jurisdiction” over the Rock, stressed Routley, who again made clear that the UK was not willing to concede “anything prejudicial to British sovereignty” over Gibraltar. His government is part of the British negotiating team with the European Union. There are no deadlines for the agreement. Although London and Brussels do not want to talk about deadlines, the reality is that holding the European elections next June and the expected early elections in the United Kingdom, where opinion polls indicate the departure of the Conservatives and the return of the Labor Party to Downing Street, gave some The urgency of agreement. If an agreement is not reached in the coming weeks, it will be up to the new European Commission and the new British government to finalize their negotiations, which could delay the whole process for several more months. In this sense, Gibraltar's Prime Minister, Fabian Picardo, stated last week before the Gibraltar Parliament that what is desirable is to reach an agreement “as soon as possible”, but he clarified that this does not prevent it from being closed after the European elections. . He stressed that “we will not be the ones who get up from the table just because there are European elections.” Secretary of State for Europe, Leo Doherty, spoke in a similar way during his recent visit to the Rock, for which “we are not on the brink” and there would be “no problem” if more time was needed, although this temporary urgency creates some Momentum for negotiation.