European leaders have endorsed a joint negotiating position on Brexit, including the controversial Spanish veto over the application of any future U.K./EU trade deal to Gibraltar. The 27 remaining members states formally agreed their talks strategy at a special European Council meeting in Brussels.
Labour is “unequivocally committed” to protecting the British sovereignty of Gibraltar, Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry said during a surprise visit to the Rock. Mrs Thornberry was shown around Gibraltar International Airport and the frontier by Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia, on the back of a long standing promise.
The Gibraltar Government is calling on Britain’s political parties to make “clear and explicit commitments” to Gibraltar in their manifestos for the June 8 general election. Chief Minister Fabian Picardo said his government would seek assurances on Gibraltar’s post-Brexit future from parties contesting the UK election.
The Gibraltar Football Association is to buy the Victoria Stadium from the Gibraltar Government, in a move that paves the way for local football teams to play international games at home and, in parallel, will trigger a £16.5m investment in new sport infrastructure around the Rock, reports the Gibraltar Chronicle.
The British Ambassador to Spain, Simon Manley, has once again reaffirmed the British position on Gibraltar. In an interview on Spanish television in – La Noche en 24 – he said “we are not going to negotiate on the sovereignty of Gibraltar without the Gibraltarian people”.
UK Labour Leader Jeremy Corbyn and Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons has pledged his full support to Gibraltar. Mr Corbyn, who gave assurances on the British Sovereignty of Rock and the double lock commitment, did so in a lengthy conversation with the Rock's Chief Minister Fabian Picardo
Spain’s Foreign Minister Alfonso Dastis called on Tuesday for calm in the row over Gibraltar’s inclusion in the EU guidelines, adding that he was surprised by the reactions in Britain. He was speaking amid a media frenzy after the EU said in its guidelines that Spain must agree before any future trade deal between the UK and the EU can be extended to Gibraltar.
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has insisted that Gibraltar “will not be bargained away” during the Brexit negotiations after the UK Government came under pressure to safeguard the future of the Rock. The Foreign Secretary’s intervention came after a European Union proposal to give Madrid a veto over decisions on Gibraltar’s future after the UK has left the bloc.
Spain will oppose any special treatment for Gibraltar or Scotland as part of the Brexit process, the ruling Partido Popular spokesman in the European Parliament said this week. During a speech in Strasbourg, Esteban Gonzalez Pons said only the UK could negotiate its withdrawal and that any deal would “affect the entirety” of the country.
The United Kingdom House of Lords EU Select Committee has launched a new short inquiry on the implications of Brexit for Gibraltar. The committee will meet next week and take evidence from Gibraltar Chief Minister Fabian Picardo, Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia and Attorney General Michael Llamas.