Spain could block Gibraltar's removal from EU money laundering list

Telegraph

12 hours ago

Spanish conservatives are seeking to stop Gibraltar being removed from an EU list of jurisdictions with lax money laundering and terror financing controls.
The centre-Right People's Party (PP) believes keeping the British Overseas Territory on the list is vital to maintaining pressure in negotiations over its future.
The populist Vox party will also join an attempt to block Gibraltar's removal because of the party's long-standing support for Spain's sovereignty claim over the Rock, which was ceded by the Spanish king to Britain in 1713.
A Vox source told The Telegraph: 'We will, of course, maintain the same position we have consistently held on Gibraltar in every vote. In our view, Gibraltar is a territory unlawfully colonised by the United Kingdom and does not meet the necessary conditions.
'Therefore, we firmly reject any proposal to remove it from the list of territories concerning capital movements.'
Inclusion on the EU's 'grey list' comes as a reputational blow and introduces red tape that makes it less appealing to do business with.
Gibraltar is on the list with countries including Afghanistan, Burkina Faso, Iran, North Korea and Yemen.
The European Commission has proposed removing the Rock, but requires a majority vote in the European Parliament to confirm the decision.
Eurocrats failed in a previous attempt to tweak the list, with conservative and socialist politicians forming an unlikely alliance to quash the move.
Earlier this year, Right-wing MEPs voted against the changes because of Gibraltar's proposed removal, while their Left-wing counterparts opposed it because of a recommendation to remove the United Arab Emirates.
The People's Party urged the Spanish government to intervene to prevent Gibraltar being removed from the EU list in January.
It said that the Rock 'continues to be a territory that is too lax with respect to its commitments to combat money laundering and terrorist financing'.
The PP also argued that under no circumstances should Gibraltar be removed before a deal was struck between Brussels and the UK on the post-Brexit relationship with the Rock.
Its politicians are the second-largest national delegation in the centre-Right European People's Party (EPP) and hold powerful influence over the direction of its voting strategies.
'Sufficiently comprehensive' efforts
Commission officials believe that the Spanish opposition could be overcome with a recommendation to add Russia to the list of countries.
They have previously said Gibraltar's efforts to counter illicit finance and money laundering are 'sufficiently comprehensive' in order to be removed from the list.
The Rock was originally included on the grey list because of concerns over regulations for its gambling industry.
It was added in 2023, as negotiations between the UK, Spain and the EU were carried out over the territory's post-Brexit future.
The talks have repeatedly stalled over sensitive sovereignty issues, including Madrid's wish for Spanish border police to operate security checks at Gibraltar's airport and seaport.
There is strong support for Ukraine among the EU parliament's EPP, and vetoing the changes to the list because of the British overseas territory could become controversial amongst its politicians from other states.
'There is huge support for putting Russia on the list,' Markus Ferber, of the EPP, told the Financial Times.
The commission's final list of recommendations is expected to be published next week, after a planned announcement was put on hold at the last minute this week.
Moscow was originally listed in 2000 but taken off two years later after fulfilling a number of criteria set to reassure the EU.