Treaty offers Gib ‘closest relationship with Europe outside EU’

Deputy Chief Minister Dr Joseph Garcia used a wide-ranging address at the University of Gibraltar recently to set out his thoughts on the Rock’s future relationship with Europe, arguing that the UK/EU treaty would replace decades of volatility with legal certainty and deliver practical benefits that eluded Gibraltar even during its years of full EU membership.

Speaking ahead of the tenth anniversary of the Brexit referendum in June, Dr Garcia reflected on over half a century of Gibraltar's European experience, from the border closure under Spain’s General Franco to the years of Spanish obstruction inside the EU.

“The treaty before us is not perfect and it does not erase the past,” he said.

“But it does learn from it. It removes the weapons used against us. It replaces volatility with law. It brings certainty where there was none.”

The treaty offered a framework for greater stability after the disruption of Brexit and would provide “the closest structural relationship” available to Gibraltar outside the EU.

“It is the closest to membership that is on offer,” Dr Garcia said, adding the new arrangement would not depend on goodwill alone, but rather on a binding legal structure that would better safeguard Gibraltar’s interests in the years ahead.

“First, it will be legally binding,” he said.

“Second, the treaty itself will include a dispute resolution mechanism of its own.”

He also stressed that “the parties to the treaty are the United Kingdom and the European Union” and that “it is not a treaty between the UK and Spain”.

AIRPORT

Dr Garcia recalled years of disagreement over the airport while Gibraltar was inside the EU and Spain blocked any attempt to develop the Rock’s air connectivity.

He said this one issue “encapsulates” the “troubled” relationship between Gibraltar and Spain inside the EU, noting for example how Madrid had vetoed an air liberalisation package because it applied to Gibraltar.

Prior to Brexit, Gibraltar was entitled to EU air connectivity as of right but this was vlocked by Spain. That right was lost after Brexit.

“It was disappointing to say the least that the European Commission, the guardian of the treaties, failed to act and to uphold EU law in this area,” he said.

“The EU institutions chose not to intervene. The United Kingdom could only hold the deadlock. Other Member States offered tea and sympathy.”

“And Spain was able to benefit from this all-round lack of interest.”

Now, the treaty framework would enable flights between Gibraltar and destinations in the EU, while also protecting British sovereignty.

UK airlines would continue to operate between Gibraltar and the UK, while EU airlines would be able to fly between Gibraltar and the EU.

Dr Garcia also set out how oversight would work and that Gibraltar would apply EU law in four specific airport-related areas through its own constitutional instruments.

“So the airport will benefit from a new relationship with the European Union which at the same time protects our relationship with the United Kingdom,” he said.

“The best of both worlds.”

“The foundations have been laid for a new route network to the EU.”

He said that while the success of new routes would depend on airline decisions, the change in outlook was clear.

And he added: “While we were in the European Union, the airport was an area of controversy.”

“Now that we are outside the European Union, it is set to become an area of cooperation.”

BORDER

Dr Garcia reflected too on the history of the land border and how it had been “abused” by Spain in the past.

For decades, he said, Spain had weaponised the frontier as a pressure-point against Gibraltar's economy and people, and the EU institutions had done little to stop it.

As a historian, he said the past had offered a “crystal clear” lesson to Gibraltar’s treaty negotiators.

“That coercive lever had to go,” he said.

“This context is essential to an understanding of the future of the controls at the land border.”

“Because the border is not only a political boundary.”

“It is also the daily crossing point for thousands of people on both sides and the gateway through which the economy of Gibraltar connects with the surrounding region.”

Under the treaty, immigration controls at the land border will be removed and replaced with dual Gibraltar and Schengen controls at the airport. A bespoke customs arrangement will also be created with the EU single market.

Dr Garcia said Brexit had created a paradox in that Gibraltar, through the interaction of Gibraltar and the Schengen area, would enjoy greater border fluidity outside the EU than when it was a member.

“Brexit took Gibraltar out of Europe, yet the solution brings Gibraltar closer to Europe than we were before,” he said.

“But Schengen here is a tool, not a flag.”

“It is a practical arrangement which means that there is no impact on Gibraltar’s British sovereignty.”

“And more than that, Gibraltarians and Gibraltar residents will enjoy the best of both worlds.”

“Access for persons into the UK and the EU. Access to the UK market in services. And access to the EU market in goods.”

REJOIN?

Dr Garcia also addressed the longer-term question of what would happen to Gibraltar if the UK were one day to rejoin the EU.

He noted that since the 2016 referendum, even the strongly pro-European Liberal Democrats had described rejoining as only a “longer term objective” in their 2024 general election manifesto, and that the UK Government's “reset” with the EU had so far amounted to “little more than an agreement to agree”.

And yet just days before his speech, UK Chancellor Rachel Reeves had floated the possibility of closer alignment with EU commercial rules.

“It is clear that rejoining cannot be ruled out in the future,” Dr Garcia said.

If that were to happen, the UK would be unlikely to return on the same terns it had before Brexit, meaning no budget rebates, no opt-outs, no special treatment.

“Worse still, the EU might welcome the UK back but not Gibraltar,” he said.

“We have learnt from experience that decisions taken elsewhere can reshape our destiny overnight.”

That, he argued, was precisely why the new treaty mattered so much, not only for the immediate future but as a safeguard against whatever decisions might eventually be taken in London.

“It establishes a framework that protects Gibraltar's interests regardless of what future decisions may be taken in London,” Dr Garcia said.

Closing his address, Dr Garcia reached for Winston Churchill's famous observation that if Britain must choose between Europe and the open sea, it must always choose the open sea.

“Gibraltar has never had the luxury of that choice,” he said.

“We have always lived between Europe and the open sea. And we have learned, not merely to survive there, but to prosper as well.”