Rock On: Agreement on Gibraltar Paves Way for EU Brexit Approval

By Nick Carter

Brexit has been a rocky transition for the UK. The country has faced an abundance of issues in trying to move forward with the withdrawal since invoking Article 50 of the Treaty of the European Union (making its intention to withdraw from the EU official) in March 2017. The most recent cause for Brexit-related concern has been the uncertainty surrounding the status of Gibraltar (yes, Gibraltar) upon the UK’s exit from the EU.

Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located right below Spain. Since it is classified as a UK dependent, it will go as the United Kingdom goes. Thus, it is slated to withdraw from the EU with the UK this coming March, even though its people voted to stay in the European Union by an overwhelming margin. However, Spain has not been shy about its qualms with the plan, as it has claimed Gibraltar as its territory for hundreds of years.

Spain had not pressed the Gibraltar issue with the UK in recent decades, but the Spanish government began to ramp the rhetoric back up as soon as the UK voted to leave the EU. Spain does not care whether Gibraltar leaves the EU, but wants to have direct negotiating power with the UK concerning the future of Gibraltar, for trade purposes and otherwise. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez recently said that he would veto any UK-EU withdrawal agreement if British Prime Minister Theresa May did not clarify her stance on Gibraltar’s future.

With EU leaders gathering to vote on Brexit approval at a special summit in Brussels on Sunday, November 25, Ms. May could hardly afford to not have Spanish support for the deal. So, the British prime minister made a deal of her own on Saturday evening, and promised Spain that Gibraltar would not be a part of any negotiations with the EU, meaning any such negotiations will be exclusively between the UK and Spain. The details surrounding the informal agreement between Ms. May and Mr. Sánchez are unclear, but Mr. Sánchez tweeted on Saturday evening that Spain would approve Brexit to move forward at the special summit on Sunday.

Although one country cannot dictate the outcome of a member-state withdrawal proposal all on its own, EU law states that Article 50 withdrawal treaties must be supported by a “strong qualified majority” of EU member-states. This would certainly include Spain.

It appears, for the time being, that the UK has wiggled out of another tight spot, but the way Brexit has gone up to this point, it would not shock anyone if Ms. May and the Brexiters found themselves between a rock and a hard place at least once more between now and the formal withdrawal, scheduled for March 2019.

Citations:

The Washington Post-How Gibraltar almost stopped a Brexit deal-November 24, 2018, available athttps://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2018/11/24/how-gibraltar-almost-stopped-brexit-deal/?utm_term=.23f960725ab1

BBC-Gibraltar: What’s it got to do with Brexit?-November 23, 2018, available athttps://www.bbc.com/news/newsbeat-46316965