Spain open to ‘constructive solutions’ on Schengen controls as Gib treaty talks enter ‘irreversible’ stage

Spain is open to “constructive solutions” to allow freedom of movement at its border with Gibraltar while meeting its Schengen obligations, Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs, Jose Manuel Albares, said in an interview with El Pais published on Monday.

Mr Albares said Spain’s objective remained to reach an agreement “to create a zone of shared prosperity” between Gibraltar and the Campo but added the requirements of the Schengen zone must be met.

“The Schengen code establishes how things must be done,” he told El Pais.

“If Gibraltar wants freedom of movement, it can have it; the only thing is that it must follow the procedures that apply at all entry and exit points of the Schengen area.”

Mr Albares is due to meet soon with his UK counterpart David Lammy, with whom he has already discussed the Gibraltar negotiation after Labour’s general election win.

Mr Lammy also discussed the treaty talks with Chief Minister Fabian Picardo last week and said the UK was committed to concluding a UK-EU agreement “which provides certainty” for Gibraltar and its people, adding it would only agree terms that Gibraltar was content with.

Negotiators have avoided setting a deadline for the talks, which commenced in 2021 but remain stuck on issues including how Schengen immigration controls will be run inside Gibraltar in the event of agreement.

Forthcoming changes to automate Schengen controls as from November have focused minds amid concerns of delays and restrictions at the border unless a deal is agreed first. Gibraltar has vowed to reciprocate any new controls implemented on the Spanish side.

“The negotiation is at an irreversible point where we either finalise the agreement, or the British side indicates that they don't want it,” Mr Albares said in the interview.

“But I insist: what I've seen in Lammy is that there is a will to reach it.”

“It's true that the new entry and exit control system for the Schengen area comes into effect on November 10, and that includes Gibraltar.”

“All the more reason to have this agreement as soon as possible.”

One of the main areas of disagreement centres on Spain’s demand that armed uniformed Spanish police officers be present for immigration controls inside Gibraltar and free to move between the airport and the port.

Both the UK and Gibraltar have rejected that proposition, pointing instead to the New Year’s Eve framework agreement of 2020 which envisaged a joint facility spanning both sides of the border, alongside the assistance of Frontex officers at least during the first four years of any agreement.

Spain would be the Schengen state responsible for ensuring the integrity of the controls from the shared facility, but Frontex would carry out the practical work inside Gibraltar.

Asked during the interview whether Spain would accept Spanish officers on duty in Gibraltar without uniforms or weapons “as Picardo is asking for”, Mr Albares said the Schengen code “establishes how things must be done”.

“If Gibraltar wants freedom of movement, it can have it; the only thing is that it must follow the procedures that apply at all entry and exit points of the Schengen area,” Mr Albares said.

“Let’s see what Lammy proposes and how."

"Spain is always willing to apply constructive solutions that ensure security at the controls and the free movement of people and goods.”

Asked if that included allowing Spanish police officers to freely move through Gibraltar, Mr Albares replied: “It involves applying the Schengen code. There is nothing unusual about demanding that.”

Last week after his meeting with Mr Lammy, the Chief Minister said that any agreement on a UK/EU treaty for Gibraltar must “ensure that the red lines of none of the [negotiating] parties are in any way transgressed”.

“That means our fundamental core red lines and all of the issues that every Gibraltarian knows off by heart on sovereignty, and all of the issues that are relevant to us, both politically, legally and economically,” Mr Picardo told the Chronicle at the time.

And in an opinion published on Saturday ahead of tomorrow’s National Day events, Mr Picardo said Gibraltar “will not blink” under pressure, warning that Gibraltarians may have to “buckle in” for the challenges ahead.

In the interview with El Pais, Mr Albares was asked to set out Spain’s red lines.

“Spain does not renounce its claim to sovereignty, but it's also a red line for me that the lives of the 300,000 residents of the Campo de Gibraltar improve,” he replied.

Mr Albares said the status of the 10,000 Spanish cross-border workers was protected by the UK/EU withdrawal agreement but stressed that “for now” the UK remained intent on reaching a deal.

“There was already a New Year’s Eve pact [in 2020] that mentioned the presence of Spanish and Frontex [the European border agency] officers,” he said.

“All of that was already agreed.”

And he added: “At this historic moment, we need to be forward-thinking, set aside any hesitations, and move towards a new relationship.”

“Fears, suspicions, and distrust must be left behind.”