Why wasn’t Gibraltar included in the UK-EU Trade and Cooperation
Agreement and what is the Government doing about it? MPs on the
European Scrutiny Committee will seek answers
from Foreign Office Minister at a one-off evidence session on 22 September.
Although Gibraltar, like the UK, has left the EU, the terms of
the trade deal which regulates tariffs and the movement of
people, do not cover the British territory. Instead, it relies on
temporary, informal arrangements to keep open its critical artery
with Spain through which thousands of workers commute and vital
food and goods arrive every day. The arrangements also cover
cross-border road transport, healthcare, waste disposal and data.
A joint framework paving the way to a permanent solution to
ensuring smooth movement of goods and people across the border
was agreed by the UK, Spain and Gibraltar at the end of December
2020. However, in July the European Commission detailed its
negotiating position for a Gibraltar deal which then Foreign
Secretary characterised as directly conflicting with the agreed
framework, not least because it would result in Spanish officials
managing Gibraltar’s border. Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel
Albares later reiterated his country’s commitment to the December
Framework.
Tensions are not eased by historic territorial claims over ‘The
Rock’ by Spain.
The Committee is likely to examine the differences in the UK and
EU negotiating positions, the stability of the temporary
arrangements, and the implications if no deal can be reached with
the EU on Gibraltar.
