Brexit – EU ‘to back Spain over Gibraltar and give Madrid power to exclude the Rock from future trade deal’
THE EU is set to back Spain's claim to Gibraltar and give Madrid the power to exclude the Rock from a post-Brexit trade deal, it is reported.
Last night Britain officially marked the start of it's divorce from Brussels, with trade talks soon to follow.
But the bloc is planning to give Spain the power to exclude Gibraltar from any deals made with the EU, it is understood.
Boris Johnson is expected to be given a choice of handing the territory over to Spain or having it excluded from any trade agreement between the UK and EU.
A senior EU diplomat told : "They have in principle asked that the new relationship not apply to Gibraltar without the explicit consent of Spain, which will only be given if the bilateral talks with Spain and the UK over the rock are resolved."
The next phase of negotiations is due to begin on March 3.
And the European Council’s Article 50 guidelines state the EU cannot come to a deal with the UK over Gibraltar without the approval of the Spanish government.
Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez will also demand a seamless transition for the 10,000 citizens who travel to the territory everyday for work, and access to the single market.
Mr Johnson is looking to take the UK out of the single market, and will have to strike a separate deal to prevent a hard border between Spain and Gibraltar.
In the 2016 referendum, 96 per cent of Brits in Gibraltar voted Remain in the hope that easy access into and out of Spain for workers and goods would be preserved.
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Gibraltar is a small 2.5-mile-squared peninsula that has been a source of tension between Spain and Britain for centuries.
Known as the Gib or the Rock, it has a population of just 30,000 - but it has huge strategic importance.
The UK has a naval and military base there for this reason to monitor shipping in and out of the Mediterranean.
When did the territory become British?
Spain originally began controlling Gibraltar in 1501.
But the Rock then came under British control during the War of Spanish Succession in 1704.
Then in 1779 Spain tried but failed to win it back in what was known as the Great Siege of Gibraltar.
The rock was declared a colony in 1830.
The people of Gibraltar voted in 1967 to be a dependency of the United Kingdom.
This effectively guarantees the unique community independence from Spain but allows support from a major Western country.
