European Parliament ‘always in favour’ of workable Gibraltar solution, MEP says 

The European Parliament is unlikely to complete ratification of the Gibraltar treaty before the autumn, but a key MEP involved in the process says Parliament has “always been in favour” of a solution that benefits citizens on both sides of the border. 

The European Council has yet to refer the UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar to the European Parliament for ratification.  

Once there, the file will be jointly handled by two parliamentary committees, the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on International Trade. 

Thijs Reuten, a Dutch MEP for Progressive Netherlands who is the rapporteur on EU/UK relations for the parliament’s Committee on Foreign Affairs, said the parliamentary process still needs to get started.  

“We will try to do our utmost to maintain appropriate speed while respecting the parliamentary process once the agreement is referred to the European Parliament,” he told the Chronicle.  

“It is worth noting that in this instance, the European Parliament's role is defined by a consent procedure.” 

“This means we can give our consent or we can withhold it, but we cannot change the substance of the agreement.” 

“Generally speaking, the European Parliament has always been in favour of a solution that works for all citizens and facilitates life for people in Gibraltar and in the EU.” 

The consent procedure allows only a yes or no vote. 

The Gibraltar treaty is due to enter into provisional application from July 15. Should the European Parliament withhold consent at a later date, the agreement would not be able to definitively enter into force. 

A no vote would not automatically and immediately end provisional application but would likely trigger renewed negotiations or a political process to find a way forward. 

The agreement has the support of the Spanish Government, the European Commission and the 27 EU members on the European Council, which should help its passage through the parliamentary process. 

But it will also face resistance from Spanish opposition parties, which have rejected the agreement during debates in the Spanish Parliament. 

While Vox has made clear it will oppose the vote in the European Parliament, the Partido Popular has yet to confirm what position it will take. 

Opposition from Spanish right-wing parties would be unlikely on its own to derail ratification unless it attracted broader support across parliamentary groups. 

In parallel to the European process, the UK Parliament will also have to ratify the agreement through a procedure set out in the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010. 

Under the so-called CRaG process, the UK Government cannot ratify a treaty unless it has first laid a signed copy before Parliament for 21 sitting days, along with an explanatory memorandum. 

If, during those 21 days, the Commons passes a resolution that the treaty should not be ratified, another 21-sitting-day delay to ratification is triggered. 

This process may be repeated continuously, though no such resolution not to ratify a treaty has ever been passed by the Commons.  

A House of Lords resolution against ratification does not delay ratification.