Gibraltar deal opens Brexit path

THE European Union removed the last major obstacle to sealing an agreement on Brexit after Spain said it had reached a deal with Britain over Gibraltar on the eve of a summit where EU leaders will sign off on the divorce papers.

UK Prime Minister Theresa May will then have to sell the deal to the British Parliament and a nation still split on if the UK should leave the EU and under what conditions.

Mrs May (pictured) vowed to campaign “with my heart and soul” to win Parliament’s backing for the deal.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, who had threatened to oppose the deal, announced that Madrid would support the divorce agreement after the UK and the EU underscored Spain’s say in the future of the disputed British territory of Gibraltar.

Spain wants the future of the tiny territory to be a bilateral issue between Madrid and London, not between Britain and the EU.

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker and European Council President Donald Tusk assured Mr Sanchez Spain’s “prior agreement” would be needed on matters concerning Gibraltar. Spain claimed a major diplomatic victory but Britain said the statement merely clarified the existing state of affairs.

Mrs May said Britain had conceded nothing on the sovereignty of Gibraltar. “The UK position on the sovereignty of Gibraltar has not changed and will not change,” she said.

The move was expected to allow EU leaders to sign off on the Brexit agreement overnight (Australian time).

Mrs May hopes to leave EU headquarters with a legally binding agreement on the withdrawal terms for Britain’s departure from the EU on March 29.