UK and Spain resume contact in Malaga over Gibraltar deal

The next, fifteenth round of formal talks between Britain and the EU have been scheduled for 13 to 14 December in London

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Friday, 8 December 2023, 09:55

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The British and Spanish governments restarted conversations over the post-Brexit status of Gibraltar with a meeting in Malaga on Monday this week. The meeting came as Brussels confirmed that the next round of formal negotiations between the UK and the EU - the fifteenth so far - will be in London next week, on 13-14 December.

Last week, the Spanish minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, and his British counterpart, David Cameron, met in Brussels during the Nato summit and noted "progress" in the agreement, although they acknowledged discrepancies regarding the joint use of Gibraltar airport, which is one of the "last aspects" that "separate them from being able to reach a final agreement".

The negotiation of the agreement is being carried out by London and Brussels, but is based on what was agreed by the Spanish and British governments in 2020. Contact had been at a standstill for months as a result of the early elections in Spain and the recent elections in Gibraltar.

This Monday's meeting in Malaga was attended, on behalf of Gibraltar, by the Chief Minister, Fabian Picardo; the Deputy Chief Minister, Joseph García; and the Attorney General, Michael Llamas. The Spanish government was represented by the Secretary of State for the European Union, Pascual Navarro, and the British government by Foreign Office civil servants.

The talks aim to give access for the Rock to Europe as part of the Schengen zone and keep free movement across the Gibraltar-Spain land border following the United Kingdom's exit from the European Union.

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