SPAIN SET TO VOTE AGAINST BREXIT DEAL
PM Pedro Sánchez unhappy over wording on Gibraltar
PM Pedro Sánchez said this week that Spain will vote against the divorce agreement between the European Union and the UK if Gibraltar’s future is not considered a bilateral issue between Madrid and London.
The draft withdrawal agreement is set to be approved by European leaders at a weekend summit.
However, if the documents do not change before Sunday, Sr Sánchez warned ‘Spain will vote no’.
He said the wording of how Gibraltar would be dealt with is ‘unclear’.
No. 10 sources have told the BBC they ‘expect a solution before Sunday’s gathering’.
Mrs May spoke to Sr Sánchez on Wednesday evening and said discussions would continue following ‘good engagement’ between the countries and the government of Gibraltar, according to a Downing Street spokesperson.
Spain has long laid claim to the British overseas territory which forms part of the Iberian Peninsula and was ceded to Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Sr Sánchez’s government is insisting that the Brexit agreement clearly states that any future trade agreements between the EU and the UK will not cover the disputed territory and the UK would have to hold direct negotiations with Madrid over how they applied to Gibraltar. Spain cannot veto the deal on Sunday, but the EU hopes to proceed by consensus. The BBC indicated that ‘it would be politically problematic for other EU countries to press ahead without Spain’s support’. Meanwhile, this week leader of the Partido Popular (PP), Pablo Casado has called for a ‘Spanish Gibraltar’ (Un Gibraltar español) and accused the Socialist party (PSOE) of selling Spain down the river in the Brexit negotiations. Sr Casado said the PP will demand co-sovereignty of the Rock.
“The PSOE have betrayed Spain,” he said during campaigning for the Andalucía elections - read report on page 22.