Spain will not block Brexit deal over Gibraltar, Spanish minister says
Brussels angered Britain by offering Spain a potential veto right over the territory's post-Brexit relationship with the EU.
Tuesday 8 August 2017 14:12, UK
Spain will not block a Brexit deal between Britain and the EU over Gibraltar, the Spanish foreign minister has said.
Alfonso Dastis said Spain would not "jeopardise" any future deal by pushing its sovereignty claim over the territory.
The future of Gibraltar, a rocky enclave on the southern tip of Spain captured by Britain in 1704, and its 30,000 inhabitants is set to be a major point of contention in Brexit negotiations.
The EU angered Britain and Gibraltar in April by offering Spain a potential veto over the territory's future. It said no agreement on the EU's future relationship with the UK would apply to Gibraltar without the consent of Spain.
But Mr Dastis told Spanish newspaper ABC: "We will try to convince the Gibraltarians that (joint sovereignty) is a route worth exploring and that it would benefit them too.
"But what I don't want to do is jeopardise an EU-UK agreement by subjecting it to a need to alter Gibraltar's status at the same time.
"I won't make an agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom conditional on recovering sovereignty over Gibraltar."
The EU position caused fury in Gibraltar, where some accused Brussels of bullying. Former Conservative Party leader Lord Howard even suggested Theresa May could .
The Prime Minister has said Gibraltar's status is not up for discussion during withdrawal negotiations.
Tory backbencher Bob Neill, a member of the all-party parliamentary group on Gibraltar, told The Sun: "If this is a genuine shift in the Spanish position we welcome it.
"We in the UK want to have a good relationship with Spain after we leave the EU. And the people of Gibraltar want a good relationship with Spain too."
Gibraltar, which Spain wants back, voted strongly in favour of remaining in the EU at last year's referendum but is committed to staying part of Britain.
Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo told Sky News he had had "cast iron assurances" from Britain's Brexit Secretary David Davis that the Government would not do a trade deal with the EU if it did not include Gibraltar.