Outrage as EU hands Spain the right to veto Gibraltar from Brexit deal, leaked guidelines reveal amid fears over the future of The Rock
The clause means that Spain will effectively be given a veto over whether Gibraltar signs up to the new deal
OUTRAGE erupted last night as the EU handed the Spanish a VETO over the future of Gibraltar under Brexit.
Brussels was accused of “shamefully singling out” and “discriminating” against the British territory to appease Madrid.
And Theresa May was urged by furious Tory MPs to tell the EU there would be no compromise over the future of the ‘Rock’, which has been in British hands for 300 years.
In yesterday’s draft EU guidelines, Donald Tusk revealed the EU had effectively carved Gibraltar out of the wider Brexit negotiations.
In the nine page document ‘Clause 22’ said that after Brexit, any agreement between the EU and the UK would have to be signed off not only by the UK but also by “the Kingdom of Spain”.
Explaining the move, a senior EU official described Gibraltar as a “disputed territory”.
Under the current EU agreement, Gibraltar is not part of the Customs Union which allows free, unbridled movement of goods across the border.
But yesterday’s decision sparked fresh fears Spain will use the Brexit talks to push its case for joint sovereignty of the territory.
Others added they demand the British Navy from the Rock or repeat demands that no international airline be allowed to land there.
But it provoked a blistering response from Gibraltar’s chief minister Fabian Picardo.
He stormed: “This is unnecessary, unjustified and unacceptable discriminatory proposed singling out of Gibraltar and its people was the predictable machination of Spain that the people of Gibraltar foresaw.
“This draft suggests that Spain is trying to get away with mortgaging the future relationship between the EU and Gibraltar to its usual obsession with our homeland. This is a disgraceful attempt by Spain to manipulate the European Council for its own, narrow, political interests.
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“Brexit is already complicated enough without Spain trying to complicate it further.”
Gibraltar voted 96 per cent to ‘Remain’ on the night of the Referendum last year. Last week Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis insisted Spain would be “constructive” in its approach to Gibraltar.
But he insisted the Rock’s future relationship must be agreed bilaterally. Spain late last year proposed joint sovereignty but Mr Dastis remarked: “Two can’t dance if one doesn’t want to.”
Spain has repeatedly argued that Gibraltar is not not like Northern Ireland in Brexit talks as it’s a colony with disputed status.
The EU hasn’t previously taken sides but yesterday was a clear sign that with Britain leaving the bloc is throwing its weight behind Spain.
Government sources pointed to Theresa May’s firm commitment to Gibraltar in the Commons on Wednesday.
Then, she said the Government would “never” enter arrangements under which the people of the territory would pass under the sovereignty of another state against their wishes.
Furious Andrew Rosindell – chair of the Parliamentary overseas territories group – demanded the PM refuse to negotiate. He stormed: “An agreement without including Gibraltar means there can be no agreement.
“British people must and will stand together, we cannot be bullied by Spain, any agreement must apply equally to the whole of the British family and that includes Gibraltar.
“There must be no compromise on this.”
Jacob Rees-Mogg told the Sun: “The British Government must defend the interests of Gibraltar during the departure discussions.
“As Francis Drake might have put it ‘there is time to finish the negotiations and beat the Spaniards too’.”