“We are working to reach an agreement as soon as possible,” he added, according to the ANSA news agency.
Spain, as Albares recalled, had presented a proposal for a “global agreement” to the United Kingdom in Brussels which provides, among other things, for the removal of the physical barrier on the border with Gibraltar to facilitate better movement of people in a beyond this border.
“We agree on the intention to move forward decisively,” said the Spanish foreign minister. “There are still some differences,” Cleverly said about it.
Both foreign ministers avoided giving precise dates for an agreement.
Gibraltar’s prime minister, Fabian Picardo, said there were still “details” to be finalized on border controls and hoped to reach an agreement “acceptable to all”, in the absence of details on who will control the port and airport.
The deal on the table proposes the abolition of the Gate and for Gibraltar to remain within the Schengen borderless area, which would lead Spain to control entry through Gibraltar’s port and airport.
Meanwhile, the UK and the European Commission have held a dozen rounds of negotiations to agree the framework for Gibraltar’s relationship with the EU following the completion of Brexit.
Madrid and London already reached an agreement in principle at Christmas 2020, which was reflected in the so-called Christmas Eve pact, but this was to be developed into a binding treaty between the UK and the EU which started to be negotiated in October 2021, just over a year ago.
