The Minister of Foreign Affairs, European Union and Cooperation, José Manuel Albares, has expressed his satisfaction this Thursday for the decision adopted on April 1 by the Twenty-Seven, which clears the way for the pact between the European Union and the United Kingdom on Gibraltar to begin to be applied provisionally from July 15, with a three-month delay compared to the calendar initially handled by Brussels and London.
During his appearance before the Congress's Foreign Affairs committee, Albares has claimed what he describes as a "historic agreement" and has remarked that, although it still must be ratified by the Council and the European Parliament, there already exists a legal basis for its provisional implementation.
"We must congratulate ourselves because the Council has approved the content of the agreement and has agreed that it will be provisionally applied next July 15," he emphasized, stressing that the document does not contemplate "any cession in matters of sovereignty." "Quite the opposite, we do not renounce our positions on sovereignty and jurisdiction and we never will," he assured.
The head of Foreign Affairs has defended that the goals set by the Government have been met, highlighting that "the political and legal relationship of the European Union with Gibraltar will always and necessarily pass through Spain and will be closer than ever".
Along these lines, he has explained that the General State Administration, "with the invaluable collaboration of the La Línea City Council (Cádiz)", continues preparing the application of the agreement from July 15, "once both the EU and the United Kingdom complete their internal approval and signing procedures for the text".
Last week, the Twenty-Seven unanimously backed the signing and the provisional application of the pact, although its formalization is still pending, a procedure that, as has been recalled, can be prolonged at least two months.
Albares has remarked that, with the elimination of the Fence, for the first time people and goods crossing the Gibraltar border "will be controlled by Spanish authorities." The National Police will assume Schengen controls for those accessing the Rock via the port and the airport, in addition to guaranteeing the supervision of goods at Spanish customs posts.
Likewise, for the first time, Spain will have information about what enters the British base and the people who cross it must identify themselves before the Spanish authorities. The agreement also obliges Gibraltar to establish a general indirect tax and special taxes on hydrocarbons, alcohol, and tobacco, whose traceability must be guaranteed.
SELF-DETERMINATION OF THE ROCK
The question of sovereignty has focused a good part of the debate among the groups. Jon Iñarritu, from Bildu, has urged to "keep moving forward in finding a solution so that it is the Gibraltarians who decide their constitutional future in the future", an aspect on which the minister has avoided commenting.
The spokesperson for Sumar, Agustín Santos, has described the pact as a "gigantic step forward" and has encouraged trying to reopen the discussion about the sovereignty of the Rock, which, according to the Treaty of Utrecht, belongs to the United Kingdom and could only return to the Spanish Crown when London decided to cede it.
Santos has recalled that, during the mandate of José María Aznar, the British Parliament granted the population of Gibraltar veto power over any negotiation related to this matter, but has defended that it is necessary to create the conditions to review what he considers "a completely outdated situation and contrary to the interests of the population of Gibraltar".
The biggest criticisms have come from the PP and Vox. The PP deputy Carlos Floriano maintains that Spain has lost an opportunity to claim sovereignty or a period of co-sovereignty, similar to what Mariano Rajoy's Executive explored. "They have not wanted to give battle, they have surrendered without asking for anything in return," he denounced, accusing the Government of "de facto recognizing British sovereignty" and of favoring Gibraltarians improving their status with respect to the EU despite the United Kingdom no longer being part of it.
Likewise, it has warned that Spain has been deprived of the possibility of denouncing the agreement through the corresponding article, that power remaining in the exclusive hands of the EU, and has reproached that the Junta de Andalucía did not participate in the conversations.
For all this, he has spoken of "irresponsibility, incompetence, negligence" on Albares' part. "They have not found out about the opportunity that Brexit gave us, or have they, Mr. Albares?" he has raised, hinting that there could be "some spurious interest" behind the "opacity" that he attributes to the Executive.
SPURIOUS INTERESTS AND HYDROCARBON PLOT
"I believe they are hiding something because nothing they have done has a sensible explanation," he added, alluding to the hydrocarbon plot for which businessman Víctor de Aldama is being investigated, tried together with former minister José Luis Ábalos for the mask case.
Floriano has pointed out that in the last five years the sale of marine fuel from Gibraltar has grown "exponentially" and has criticized that the text does not contemplate mechanisms to "guarantee the origin and traceability of the fuel that the colony puts on the market". "We only hope not to find ourselves in Gibraltar with the hydrocarbon plot," he warned, recalling that Ábalos "was in Gibraltar with his diplomatic passport" and "he was given a chalet in the area".
The PP deputy has accused the minister of intending to "sell as historic" some advances that, in his opinion, are not, and of maintaining the Gibraltarian "tax haven". He has also taken for granted that the Spanish Social Security "will have to assume the payment of pensions because London will not want to know anything about the matter", a point that Albares has rejected. Furthermore, he has demanded explanations for the lack of a solution to the "conflict over territorial waters".
LET VOTING HAPPEN IN SPAIN
José María Sánchez, from Vox, has described the intervention of "microminister" Albares as an "insult to intelligence" and "violent". "You abuse and lie; you are the most deplorable holder of this portfolio since 1977," he snapped at him, also criticizing his words about Gibraltar as "unworthy".
After defending, like the PP, that the agreement should be submitted to a vote in the Spanish Parliament, he has maintained that the minister has only uttered "barbarities" due to his legal "ignorance", which has led Albares to reproach him for his "bad manners" and to demand more "patriotism" and less "emptiness".
"Of course you are going to be able to vote on this agreement. How could you not? You are going to be able to vote on it in the European Parliament and I hope you do so in favor", the minister replied, convinced that what makes the PP uncomfortable is that it was Pedro Sánchez's Government that closed a pact that even the Andalusian president, Juanma Moreno, has praised.
Albares has affirmed that the Rajoy Executive was "willing to hand over sovereignty" of the Rock "in exchange for nothing" --something that Floriano has energetically denied-- and has downplayed his criticisms about territorial waters. "Do you really want me to sit down and talk about waters that are Spanish waters?" he replied.
Also, he/she has described as "false" the rest of the statements by Floriano and Sánchez, insisting that the text includes "many safeguards" that allow Spain to request its suspension, and has asked the PP to "not try to deceive" regarding the fiscal aspects.
Despite the discrepancies, the minister has once again offered the 'populars' to join the agreement. "They are still on time, convince Mr. (Alberto Núñez) Feijóo to let him sit with me", he urged him.