UK-EU defence pact could be linked to Gibraltar deal

Glasgow Times

12-05-2025

Talks on new rules governing the border between Spain and Gibraltar have been ongoing since Britain left the EU in 2020, but so far no agreement has been reached.
More recently, the UK has been in negotiation with the EU on a defence and security pact, including British access to a major European defence fund set up in response to US President Donald Trump's apparent reluctance to guarantee the continent's security.
Speaking to BBC Newsnight on Monday, Spanish foreign minister Jose Manuel Albares suggested progress on the security deal could depend on resolving the issue of Gibraltar's border.
He said: 'I think the relationship between UK and European Union, it's a comprehensive relation, a global relation, not just a pick-and-choose relation. Because there are many, many things that we have to talk (about), Gibraltar included.
'So I would like to see a global deal on everything to make sure that the relationship is as smooth as possible.'
The Government has said Gibraltar will 'always remain part of the British family', but it had 'inherited a situation' that 'left Gibraltar's economy and way of life under threat'.
Gibraltar was ceded to the UK by Spain in 1713 and the population is heavily in favour of remaining a British overseas territory.
The last time it voted on a proposal to share sovereignty with Spain, in 2002, almost 99% of Gibraltarians rejected the move.
The Government, in line with its Conservative predecessors, has said that it will not sign up to a deal that gives sovereignty over Gibraltar to another country, or that the Gibraltarian government is not content with.
But several issues remain unresolved, including what role Spanish officials could play in immigration checks for people entering Gibraltar and the status of the territory's airport, which also hosts an RAF base.
The Gibraltarian government has previously stressed the importance of operating a 'fluid' border, given the territory's reliance on workers who live in Spain.
Mr Albares's comments follow reports suggesting some European countries have sought to make UK concessions on fishing rights part of any defence deal.
But both the UK Government and the EU have sought to avoid directly linking defence negotiations to fishing rights.
Dame Priti Patel, the shadow foreign secretary, said: 'Given that whenever Labour negotiates, Britain loses, it's no wonder Spain sees this weak Government as an opportunity.
'Gibraltar is British, end of, and we will remind the Government exactly where the sovereignty of Gibraltar lies.'
A spokesperson for the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office said: 'This Government inherited a situation from the last government which left Gibraltar's economy and way of life under threat.
'In the negotiations we have continued from the last government to resolve this, we have been clear that we will only agree a deal that maintains British sovereignty over Gibraltar and has the full backing of Gibraltar's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo.
'Gibraltarian citizens are British citizens and Gibraltar will always remain part of the British family.'