Spain and UK urge for agreement on Gibraltar’s relationship with EU after Brexit

The President of the Government of Spain, Pedro Sánchez, and the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, addressed in a telephone conversation on Thursday the importance of closing an agreement on Gibraltar’s relationship with the European Union (EU) “as soon as possible.” after Brexit.

A spokesperson from Downing Street, the official residence of the British head of government, reported on the conversation, and La Moncloa later confirmed it. The Spanish government rarely reports on Sánchez’s call schedule, so the other party usually finds out beforehand.

The conversation has thus had a clear political relevance because Spain and the United Kingdom have been negotiating a solution for Gibraltar for months, much more urgent now after Brexit, and the Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has insisted on several occasions that he is ” very close” to the agreement, although he also repeats the classic phrase of diplomacy that “nothing is closed until everything is closed”. The fact that Sánchez and Sunak spoke specifically about the matter by phone and agreed to a note stating that the agreement must be closed “as soon as possible” indicates that things are advanced. Sources from the Spanish Executive insist that the United Kingdom already has the latest proposal from Madrid and now it has to give an answer.

According to Downing Street, both leaders “agreed on the importance of advancing negotiations towards a UK-EU treaty.” La Moncloa, which points out that the call was made at the request of Sunak, agrees with the London version and points out that the two leaders “have reviewed the excellent bilateral relations between the two countries and the need to give the final steps in the negotiations on Gibraltar”. “Both leaders have agreed on the importance of reaching an agreement that is beneficial for shared prosperity in the area,” concludes the Spanish government.

According to La Moncloa, “Sánchez and Sunak have reviewed various issues on the international agenda. Both have reaffirmed their support for Ukraine in the face of Russia’s illegal and unjustified aggression and have discussed President Zelensky’s peace plan. Likewise, they have talked about cooperation on issues such as energy security and the opportunity that Spain and the United Kingdom will have to deal with these and other issues within the framework of the upcoming meetings of the European Political Community”.