What is Gibraltar?
Gibraltar is a small British Dependent Territory, connected to southern Spain by a narrow strip of land.
This piece of land (known as the Rock of Gibraltar) has been regarded as important throughout history because of its crucial strategic position, as one of the ‘Pillars of Hercules’, that stands at the Mediterranean’s opening into the Atlantic.
Once a crucial military base, Gibraltar has developed into a centre for international shipping and offshore banking, and one which benefits from a healthy tourist industry. Gibraltar has more registered companies than inhabitants. Nonetheless, it is still the site of a major NATO base.
In recent years there has been a protracted struggle over the future sovereignty of the Rock, with successive Spanish governments demanding control and successive British governments rejecting these calls.
In the early 2000s, the previous Labour Government had considered the idea of a joint sovereignty deal with Spain around Gibraltar, but this shows no sign of being accepted while Gibraltarian and British public opinion remains so strongly opposed.
Gibraltar became a awkward negotiating variable in the Brexit withdrawal negotiations.
Gibraltar post Brexit
In light of Britain’s decision to leave the European Union in the 2016 Brexit referendum, concerns emerged as to the implications on Gibraltar. Residents in Gibraltar had voted by a massive 96% to remain in the European Union in the 2016 Brexit referendum.
During the negotiations relating to the withdrawal agreement, the European Union’s core principle number 22 stated that “After the United Kingdom leaves the Union, no agreement between the EU and the United Kingdom may apply to the territory of Gibraltar without the agreement between the Kingdom of Spain and the United Kingdom”.
The EU’s negotiating position led one Conservative MP, Jack Lopresti to suggest that it was shameful for the EU to allow Spain an effective veto over the future of a British sovereign territory, ignoring the will of the people of Gibraltar
In 2020, Spain and the UK reached an agreement surrounding Gibraltar under which Gibraltar would join the European Union’s Schengen trading area, with its airports and seaports becoming entry points to the Schengen area under the responsibility of Spain.
Spanish and Gibraltarian officers now conduct joint checks on travellers and luggage entering Gibraltar. Gibraltar agreed to apply “substantially” the same duties as the EU, including decisions on VAT. The issue of VAT has itself been particularly controversial given Gibraltar’s previous VAT exempt approach.
The Brexit agreement between Spain and the UK in relation to Gibraltar has paved the way for the demolition of the 1.2 km physical barrier that had previously encircled the Rock. This symbolic move has been likened to the largest shift in Spanish-Gibraltarian relations, since Gibraltar was first ceded to Britain in the 1713 War of Spanish Succession.
Nonetheless, the framework agreement between the UK and Spain, makes it clear that it is, “without prejudice to the issue of sovereignty and jurisdiction” of Gibraltar – a reflection of the uncompromising attitudes that still exist between the UK and Spain to the ‘Rock’.
And in a sign that the position is not totally settled, the text agreed in 2020, allows any of the parties to terminate the agreement at a later date if it does not meet their satisfaction.
History of Gibraltar
Spain lost control of the Rock after it fell to an Anglo-Dutch force in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession, and the territory was subsequently populated by immigrants from Malta, Genoa, Portugal and elsewhere, before being officially ceded to Britain in 1713 under the Treaty of Utrecht.
After many years of gradual reform, 1964 saw control over the civil service and policy vested in a democratically-elected Government of Gibraltar, headed by a Chief Minister. Gibraltar’s foreign policy, however, remains in the hands of the British Government.
The ever-present tensions with Spain began to reach boiling point in 1967 when Gibraltarians voted by 12,130 votes to 44 to retain the link with Britain rather than opt for Spanish sovereignty. Spanish dictator General Franco closed the Spain-Gibraltar land border altogether in 1969, and it remained shut until 1985.
Spain refuses to recognise the Government of Gibraltar, and the issue has led to a fractious relationship between Spain and the UK, as well as some day-to-day hardships for the people of Gibraltar, who the Spanish refer to as ‘transients’ on the grounds that the ‘real’ population was expelled in the 18th Century.
Madrid has banned ferry and air travel to the Rock, rejected its courts, police and ID cards, and has not recognised Gibraltar’s international dialling code – considerably hampering the Rock’s emergence as a major centre for world telecoms. In the past, road travel to Gibraltar has frequently been disrupted by searches at the border.
The people of Gibraltar have twice voted to remain a British dependency, in 1967 and 2002. Prior to the 2002 referendum, when a change of status was rejected by 99 per cent of the population, the British and Spanish governments had been considering arrangements for joint sovereignty. In the 2002 vote, only 187 votes out of more than 18,000 were cast in favour of shared sovereignty with Spain.
Although the British Government did not acknowledge that the Gibraltarian referendum was legitimate and binding, it remains British policy that Gibraltar’s status will not change without the consent of the people.
Statistics
Population – 33,701
Total land area – 6.5 sq km
Chief Minister- Fabian Picardo MP
Gibraltar statistics (2019)
Quotes
“As ever, the UK remains implacable and rocklike in our support for Gibraltar”, Boris Johnson, 2017
“[Spain is] trying to get away with mortgaging the future relationship between the EU and Gibraltar to its usual obsession with our homeland. This is a disgraceful attempt by Spain to manipulate the European Council for its own, narrow, political interests. Brexit is already complicated enough without Spain trying to complicate it further.” – Fabian Picardo, Gibraltar’s chief minister, 2017
