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Spain seeks assurances on Gibraltar before endorsing transition deal
The European Union's plans to endorse a post-Brexit transition agreement may have encountered a last-minute stumbling block after Spain demanded the deal not undermine it in its talks with Gibraltar.
The Spanish government is worried that the deal does not clearly state that the agreement on the 21-month transition period does not apply to Gibraltar, unless Spain approves it beforehand.
Spain held out the possibility that it might not back the transition deal at the 23 March EU heads of state Spring summit if such a clause was left out of the draft agreement.
On Monday, Spanish Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis said "It's not about a right of veto, it's about applying the negotiating guidelines, which state that the application to Gibraltar of the agreement depends on a bilateral agreement between the U.K. and Spain."
The issue has proved a sticking point in the past, following the EU's decision to grant Spain the power to block any transition deal that applies to Gibraltar, with Madrid having first to approve it.
Madrid's reservations were stoked by remarks from UK Brexit Secretary David Davis, who on Monday said that in his view the agreement does cover The Rock - without Spain having a say in the matter.
Yet according to the EU's top negotiator, Michel Barnier, Spain does still hold the power to veto any deal.
"No agreement between the EU and the U.K. can apply to the territory of Gibraltar without a bilateral agreement. I know these discussions are under way and are making headway," Barnier said on Tuesday.
For his part, Gibraltar's Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo, said the EU needed to guarantee that workers in Gibraltar would continue to be able to cross over into Spain and that Spanish workers could keep their jobs in the British territory post Brexit.
Gibraltar had also recently warned Spanish authorities it could consider reviewing EU citizens' rights, affecting thousands of Spanish workers who cross the border everyday, if it chose exercise its veto power.