{"id":790645,"date":"2026-02-26T16:52:15","date_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:52:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/790645\/"},"modified":"2026-02-26T16:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-02-26T16:52:15","slug":"spain-to-be-given-veto-power-over-brits-entering-gibraltar-under-post-brexit-deal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/790645\/","title":{"rendered":"Spain to be given veto power over Brits entering Gibraltar under post-Brexit deal"},"content":{"rendered":"

The UK, alongside the Government of Gibraltar, has published a draft treaty with the EU.<\/p>\n

\"Spain<\/p>\n

Spain will be given veto power on Brits entering Gibraltar.<\/p>\n

Picture:
\nGetty
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Spain will be able to veto Brits’ travelling to Gibraltar and given the right to refuse residency permits on security grounds following a post-Brexit treaty.<\/p>\n

The UK, alongside the Government of Gibraltar, has published a draft treaty with the EU that outlines the arrangements for a \u201cfluid border\u201d for people and goods.<\/p>\n

Under the deal’s terms, Spanish authorities will be given the right to block travellers from outside the EU deemed a risk to security, public health or international relations.<\/p>\n

Spanish officials carrying out Schengen checks cannot refuse entry to residents but will be able to do so for non-resident third country nationals, including Brits who do not live in Gibraltar.<\/p>\n

The deal will also mean no routine passport checks at the Spain-Gibraltar border for the 15,000 people who cross it every day, around half of Gibraltar\u2019s workforce.<\/p>\n

Checks will apply to those arriving by air, so those flying into Gibraltar from the UK will face dual border controls: one check from Gibraltarian officials and another by the Spanish on behalf of the EU, similar to French police operating at St Pancras Station.<\/p>\n

There will also be a bespoke customs model to \u201celiminate burdensome goods checks\u201d at the land border, the UK Government said.<\/p>\n

Gibraltar will align its import duty rates on goods with EU rates to allow people to cross the border with everyday goods, such as shopping, without declarations or additional charges.<\/p>\n

However, the Rock will continue to have no VAT or any other sales tax.<\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>‘Never on the table’: Gibraltar not joining Schengen free travel area under deal with EU, says David Lammy<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

Read more: <\/strong>Just when you thought Labour couldn’t stoop any lower, along comes Gibraltar, writes Suella Braverman<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

\"Conservative<\/p>\n

Conservative MP Mark Francois.<\/p>\n

Picture:
\nGetty
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

The draft agreement does not affect sovereignty, stating that nothing signed \u201cshall constitute the basis for any assertion or denial of sovereignty\u201d over the Rock, and protects UK autonomy of key military facilities.<\/p>\n

Gibraltar\u2019s airport is run by the Ministry of Defence and hosts an RAF base. The overseas territory also has an important naval facility.<\/p>\n

The treaty will not apply to British Armed Forces personnel or people visiting the RAF base, but shadow armed forces minister Mark Francois said it was \u201cstrategically barmy\u201d to share the airport’s sovereignty with Spain.<\/p>\n

The treaty, published in draft form on Thursday, still needs to be signed, ratified an implemented. It is set to be signed in March.<\/p>\n

Foreign Office minister Stephen Doughty said: \u201cThis treaty ensures that Gibraltar\u2019s economy, people, and future are protected as an integral part of the British family.<\/p>\n

\u201cWorking closely with the Government of Gibraltar \u2013 and agreeing nothing without their consent \u2013 we have a treaty that preserves sovereignty and delivers certainty when Gibraltar\u2019sway of life was threatened.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe UK\u2019s commitment to Gibraltar will never falter.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking in the Commons on Thursday, Mr Doughty emphasised that Gibraltar is \u201cnot joining Schengen\u201d and that \u201cimmigration, policing and justice remain the responsibility of its own authorities\u201d.<\/p>\n

He said the deal will \u201cbring an end to the long queues that we have seen for workers, businesses and visitors\u201d at the Gibraltar-Spain border and will give businesses \u201cthe certainty they have sought for many years, allowing them to plan and invest with confidence\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Governor of Gibraltar Sir Ben Bathurst watched from the gallery as Mr Doughty told MPs that that the UK-EU treaty has the \u201cfull support\u201d of the Government of Gibraltar.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, chief minister of Gibraltar Fabian Picardo said: \u201cThis is a safe and secure agreement we have negotiated alongside the UK and that unequivocally protects our position on sovereignty, safeguards our economy and delivers the certainty our people and businesses need.<\/p>\n

\"The<\/p>\n

The RAF base in Gibraltar.<\/p>\n

Picture:
\nGetty
\n<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt allows Gibraltar to look to the future with confidence, protecting our British way of life while unlocking new opportunities for growth and prosperity.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is an agreement that is very good for Gibraltar-based individuals and businesses that will deliver great growth for our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n

However, shadow Foreign Office minister Wendy Morton argued that sovereignty is \u201cnot simply about words, it is about how arrangements operate in practice\u201d.<\/p>\n

The Conservative frontbencher raised concerns about Gibraltar adopting dynamic alignment, which is when a non-EU country or territory agrees to automatically update its domestic laws and standards to match EU regulations in certain areas.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cThis treaty does not merely apply a fixed list of EU law. It provides for future EU acts listed in the annexes to be adopted and implemented with serious consequences if they are not.\u201d<\/p>\n

She questioned how Gibraltar and the UK will avoid \u201cbecoming subject to ongoing EU rule-taking without meaningful political control\u201d.<\/p>\n

Ms Morton concluded: \u201cThere are serious questions about the operation of the border and dual checks, the role of Spanish authorities at the airport, customs and taxation arrangements, business impacts, the adoption of future EU acts listed in the annexes, ECJ (European Court of Justice) interpretation and the domestic legislation required to implement the treaty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr Doughty said the Government welcomes the scrutiny that the treaty will receive in Parliament, saying: \u201cThere is nothing to hide here.\u201d<\/p>\n

In relation to Ms Morton\u2019s concerns about dynamic alignment, he said it is for Gibraltarto decide what kind of alignment they want to have and claimed that the Tories want to \u201cstick in the ideology of the Brexit years, rather than pragmatic arrangements that deliver for the people of Gibraltar, or indeed the people of this country\u201d.<\/p>\n

Later, Mr Doughty said it was \u201ccompletely erroneous\u201d to draw a comparison between the Chagos deal and the treaty on Gibraltar.<\/p>\n

Responding to a question from Lincoln Jopp, Conservative MP for Spelthorne, he said it was \u201chugely unhelpful to draw false comparisons between Chagos and indeed other overseas territories\u201d, highlighting that the chief minister of Gibraltar \u201cspecifically cautioned against doing so\u201d.<\/p>\n

Gibraltar was ceded to the UK by Spain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 and the population is heavily in favour of remaining a British overseas territory.<\/p>\n

The last time it voted on a proposal to share sovereignty with Spain, in 2002, almost 99% of Gibraltarians rejected the move.<\/p>\n

Talks on rules governing the border have been ongoing since Britain left the European Union in 2020.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The UK, alongside the Government of Gibraltar, has published a draft treaty with the EU. Spain will be…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":790646,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5226],"tags":[802,748,2000,299,5187,1699,4884,16,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-790645","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-brexit","8":"tag-brexit","9":"tag-britain","10":"tag-eu","11":"tag-europe","12":"tag-european","13":"tag-european-union","14":"tag-great-britain","15":"tag-uk","16":"tag-united-kingdom"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@uk\/116137974337904979","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790645","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=790645"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/790645\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/790646"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=790645"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=790645"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=790645"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}