Gib treaty ‘explicitly’ not about sovereignty, Commons told

A clause in the UK/EU treaty on Gibraltar’s post-Brexit relations with the bloc will make it clear that the agreement is “explicitly” not about the Rock’s sovereignty, the UK Government’s Europe Minister, Stephen Doughty, said this week.

Mr Doughty was responding to a question from Conservative shadow foreign secretary Priti Patel, who asked about the potential impact of the treaty’s “sovereignty clause” on Gibraltar.

“The sovereignty clause safeguards UK sovereignty over Gibraltar,” Mr Doughty replied.

“It makes clear that the treaty is explicitly not about Gibraltar's sovereignty.”

“We are steadfast in our support for Gibraltar, which remains a critical part of our wider UK family.”

Mr Doughty also reaffirmed the UK’s double lock commitment.

“This Government is fully committed to the double lock: we will never enter into arrangements under which the people of Gibraltar would pass under the sovereignty of another State against their freely and democratically expressed wishes,” he said.

“And we will never enter into a process of sovereignty negotiations with which Gibraltar is not content.”

In other developments this week, Spain’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares, met with EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic and “discussed the next steps for the entry into force of the agreement regarding Gibraltar”, according to a post on his social media.